The Civil Aviation Authority has today published details of proposed standard terms for the new Flight Plus licence and Atol Certificate, along with revised policies on payments by the Air Travel Trust.
An annex to the CAA Information Paper says the fund trustees have agreed to pay refunds as well as to repatriate flight-only customers in the event of a company failure.
However, there is one proposed exemption: refunds will not apply where the flight element of a holiday was sold by a retailer acting as an ‘agent for the consumer’.
The trustees had been considering paying solely to repatriate all flight-only passengers – a suggestion that caused considerable disquiet in the trade.
The revision comes with a proviso that the government opts to retain flight-only sales within Atol protection. The Department for Transport is currently considering whether to do so following a consultation that ended in September. The DfT is due to issue a final response in December.
The Information Paper, released this afternoon along with draft Standard Terms, provides details of the planned Atol Certificate to be launched along with Flight Plus from next April.
The CAA will consult on the proposals in January, once the government’s position is clear.
The authority envisages Atol Certificates being issued at the point of booking, with revisions or additions to protected holidays detailed on a Schedule of Information to be issued by Atol-holders separately. This would allow changes to arrangements without requiring the issue of multiple certificates.
The CAA paper also gives detail of proposals for Approved Bodies which would provide Atol cover for agents without the latter having to hold their own licence.
The details make it unlikely that a trade association such as Abta could act as an Approved Body on behalf of members unless it agrees to accept the risk. However, the CAA said it was “happy to discuss other proposals”.
CAA director of consumer protection Richard Jackson said: “Today’s paper gives the industry a better idea of how the concepts set out by the DfT like ‘Flight Plus’, ‘Approved Bodies’ and ‘ATOL Certificates’ are expected to work in practice.
“In advance of final decisions from the government, we will be working closely with the travel trade to get their input on these proposals. We plan to consult formally on them in the New Year.”