The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has blamed “resourcing challenges” during the Covid-19 pandemic for its delay in publishing the Air Travel Trust (ATT) accounts for 2020-21.
But Travel Weekly understands that uncertainty about the outlook for bookings was also a factor, with the trustees of the ATT fund required to assess whether the trust has sufficient resources to operate as a going concern.
The ATT report and accounts for the 12 months to the end of March 2021 were published on Monday, almost 18 months overdue. The accounts cover the first half of the pandemic but were only signed off on February 17 last week.
Andrew McConnell, spokesperson for the CAA, said: “The travel sector was massively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and it is well documented this created resourcing challenges for the entire industry.
“These resourcing challenges were also true for the UK CAA and the role it undertakes as agent for the Air Travel Trust.”
FOI request
Trailfinders’ founder and chairman Sir Mike Gooley made a Freedom of Information request to see the accounts in January when he accused the trustees of being “delinquent” in not publishing them.
Toby Kelly, Trailfinders chief executive, wrote to transport secretary Mark Harper on Tuesday following publication of the ATT accounts noting: “The 2022 accounts are nine months overdue and have not been published as we have been told they have not yet been produced.”
His letter notes the obligation of the ATT trustees to “keep proper accounting records” and asks: “How can the trustees be fulfilling their obligation?”
Kelly also notes the cost of Atol and the ATT “is very substantial” and asks Harper: “Why is it performing so poorly? How will you ensure the ATT trustees fulfil their obligations in a timely manner.”
Trailfinders is not alone in querying the delay in publishing the accounts. Alan Bowen, advisor to the Association of Atol Companies, told Travel Weekly earlier this month: “We have no idea how much is in the Air Travel Trust. It would be helpful if the CAA would give us a clue. It must be getting updates weekly.”
The ATT report for 2020-21 notes the trustees met almost weekly through the 12-month period, meeting 49 times presumably to assess the state of the fund and its ability to meet financial calls upon it.
Trustees
The current trustees, appointed by the CAA’s chair and chief executive, are all members of the CAA board of directors.
They are Paul Smith, CAA director of consumers and markets; Chris Tingle, CAA chief operating officer; Jonathon Spence, CAA general counsel and secretary; and Marykay Fuller, CAA non-executive director who chairs the trustees.
Spence only replaced former CAA general counsel Kate Staples as a trustee at the beginning of January 2022.
The CAA acts as agent of the trustees in exercising their powers, administering ATT funds and performing the administrative functions of the ATT.
It, in turn, is a statutory body created by Act of Parliament which reports to the Secretary of State for Transport.
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