The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued a reminder to holidaymakers to check for Atol protection when booking, noting it’s five years to the day since the collapse of Thomas Cook.
The failure of the Thomas Cook Group on September 23, 2019, led to the largest repatriation of Atol-protected customers in the history of the consumer financial-protection scheme – introduced in 1973.
The CAA organised more than 1,000 repatriation flights to bring more than 140,000 overseas holidaymakers back to the UK.
It reported 94% of passengers were flown back on their original departure date after Thomas Cook went into liquidation.
The CAA subsequently paid out more than 250,000 refunds at a value of more than £350 million.
Creditors of Thomas Cook are expecting to receive final pay-outs totalling £280 million at the end of this month after the Official Receiver announced plans in July to distribute the funds recovered.
Michael Budge, CAA head of Atol, described Thomas Cook’s failure as “a sad day for the industry, employees, and consumers” and suggested the anniversary “serves as an important reminder to book an Atol-protected holiday”.
He said: “Booking a holiday is exciting [but] remember to do your research and use the Atol website to check your holiday company is an Atol-licensed tour operator before booking.”
The CAA recommends consumers “consider booking a package rather than organising flights and accommodation separately” and that they “look out for holiday fraud”.
It advises holiday bookers to “check the web address is legitimate and has not been altered by slight changes to a domain name” and warns: “Don’t reply to unsolicited emails, texts, social media or calls with holiday offers. Links and attachments in emails may lead to malicious websites or download viruses.”
The CAA also advises consumers to use a credit card for holiday bookings “if possible”, noting: “A credit card may provide additional protection for your trip, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.”
It also suggests consumers “look out for hidden costs and charges” when booking, and book travel insurance to “protect against a range of mishaps”, while warning: “The type of cover will vary so carefully check the insurance terms and conditions for full details of cover.”
The CAA is currently in the process of assessing the 60% of Atol-holder licences which fall due for renewal at the end of September.
There were 1,600 Atol holders, licenced to carry about 33 million passengers a year, at the last renewal at the end of March.
Chinese corporation Fosun Group acquired the Thomas Cook name following the collapse of the Cook group in September 2019 and relaunched the brand as an online travel agency (OTA) in September 2020. It sold Thomas Cook to the Poland-based eSky Group earlier this month.