As many as 200 Atol holders are still to submit applications to renew their licences as the September renewal process nears its end, with many facing the prospect of being unable to take bookings from Friday.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) urged licence holders to submit renewal applications late last week ahead of the September 30 deadline as it revealed “around 20% of businesses” had not yet applied – about double the rate still to apply at the same stage of the March renewal.
There were hopes the CAA would extend the renewal process on Tuesday after it warned: “Businesses yet to meet their licence conditions face losing their ability to sell package holidays after September 30.”
The CAA noted: “Businesses would have to stop taking new licensable bookings, stop accepting payments for existing licensable bookings, instruct agents they should not accept new bookings or payments, stop advertising licensable business and remove all references to Atol on websites and promotional material.”
Businesses would also “have to notify all customers due to travel after September 30… and provide a full refund”.
Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the Association of Atol Companies, told Travel Weekly: “This is undoubtedly the most difficult renewal we’ve seen. The CAA extended the renewal process in March and September last year, but didn’t in March this year.
“I suspect quite a few Atol holders have decided not to renew. One reason for the late applications is fear. People are terrified. I had one client who was asked for £1 million bond.
“But people won’t be able to sell holidays from Friday without an Atol. We’ll have a big problem on Friday without an extension.”
Bowen noted: “You can’t have an extension if you haven’t put in an application. And if you don’t have an Atol and you issued refund credit notes [RCNs], these will have to refunded because the RCNs can’t be used to issue another Atol-backed holiday.”
Another senior industry figure argued: “I suspect the CAA will hold the line [on the deadline], but deal pragmatically with outstanding cases [or] they could end up creating the problem they’re trying to avoid.”
The source noted: “There are people with big problems, but also people just behind because of reforecasting or struggling with reduced resources. These are reasons the CAA will understand. But you have to get the applications in.”