Holidaymakers urged to reclaim ATOL refund notes or lose out on £54m
Holidaymakers have been warned not to miss out on £54m-worth of unclaimed ATOL refund credit by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Many passengers have missed out on the chance to claim compensation from ATOL, a legal protection and requirement for package holiday bookings.
The CAA warned that when a travel company goes under, from 30 September, any holidaymakers with outstanding credit won’t be covered by ATOL (Air Travel Organiser’s Licence), and could lose cash.
It urged consumers to either request a refund from their travel company, or make a booking using a refund credit note.
“Demand for travel is continuing to grow and we want to make sure travellers are making the most of the financial protection available to them”, said Michael Budge, Head of ATOL at the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
“With more than £50 million of refund credit notes remaining unspent, this affects consumers booked with some of our biggest travel companies.
“If you have one of these refund credit notes, we advise making an ATOL protected booking or requesting a refund before 30 September 2022 to avoid putting your money at risk.”
According to the CAA, in July 2020 the ATOL scheme said consumers who accepted refund credit notes would be financially protected for any holidays booked between 10 March 2020 and 19 December 2021.
As of November 2021, more than £130m of refund credit notes remained unspent, which reduced to £85m in April 2022.