The Civil Aviation Authority renewed 958 Atol licences in September, up from 923 in 2022 and 871 in 2021. A further 26 are still in the application process or are yet to meet licence conditions.
The renewals mean a total of 1,607 businesses are currently licensed under the Atol scheme, a slight drop from the 1,619 licensed following the March renewals.
The CAA confirmed 1,046 licences expired on September 30, meaning 62 were not renewed.
It also confirmed Jet2, Tui, We Love Holidays, Booking.com and easyJet Holidays are the five largest licence holders.
Jet2holidays remains in top spot after leapfrogging Tui to become the largest Atol holder in February.
Its licence now stands at 6.7 million, up from 5.8 million in February. Tui is licensed for 5.9 million, up from 5.3 million in February, with its Marella Cruises business also in the top 10 with a separate licence for 336,956 passengers.
We Love Holidays, the parent company of loveholidays, is licensed for 2.7 million while Booking.com continues its Atol growth with a licence for 2.4 million and easyJet holidays is licensed to carry 2.3 milion.
The number of Atol holders has steadily declined, with this September’s expiries comparing to 1,283 in the last pre-pandemic autumn renewal in 2019.
CAA head of Atol Michael Budge said: “It has been widely reported that travel bookings have picked up throughout 2023 and we anticipate the market getting back to pre-pandemic levels, despite the current cost-of-living crisis.
“Our licence holders seem to be confident that bookings will remain buoyant into 2024. Holidays can be one of the biggest purchases people make, so it remains vital consumers check their package holiday is booked through an Atol-licensed tour operator.”
The CAA reminded firms due to renew their licences in March to apply well in advance of the deadline to ensure they are not left in a position where they are unable to take Atol-protected bookings.