The travel trade is wasting its time demanding the government bring airlines into Atol reform, a senior Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figure said yesterday.
CAA consumer protection group deputy director David Moesli told an industry conference: “The government does not intend to bring in airlines.”
Moesli told the Elman Wall travel directors’ summit in London: “One thing that is absolutely certain is that the government is not about to bring airlines into Atol.
“What you have is probably the best you are going to get from any government – that it is the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) intention, probably within a couple of years . . . to deal with airline holidays and agent for the consumer.”
He added: “But the government cannot give an absolute promise. It cannot promise to deliver primary legislation in advance.”
Moesli referred to the claim by a leading industry lawyer that the DfT had inadvertently included airlines – by omission – in its draft Atol reform regulations. He said: “The DfT response is that it does not intend to bring airlines in.
“Its intention is to change the [draft] regulations so airlines are not brought in at this at this stage. The DfT intends to plug the gaps through primary legislation.”
Moesli insisted: “The DfT has an option for secondary legislation to change the Atol Regulations, not primary legislation to change the Civil Aviation Act. In the short term it can’t bring in the airlines.
“But it is talking about airline holiday sales, not all airline seats.”
He added: “The feeling is that this [all airline seats] will move in line with Europe, but it is not certain Europe will ever get there because the airlines have an extremely strong lobby.”
Moesli acknowledged the extent of industry concern about the DfT’s January 1 deadline for the Atol changes. He said: “The government wants to create clarity for the consumer – ideally that means [implementation] at the start of the booking season. It also wants to get January bookings in to raise money for the Air Travel Trust fund. The trade fells it needs more time.”
He said: “We expect a DfT announcement in mid-October. It will have to make an announcement early in October to fit the timetable. When it makes that announcement, we will consult on the standard terms.”