ATOL is run by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It is funded by contributions from ATOL holders, who must pay £2.50 into the schemes back up fund, the Air Travel Trust, for each person they book on a holiday.
This money creates a fund that is used by the CAA to ensure consumers either complete their holiday or – if they cannot get away – receive a full refund.
ATOL is the UK’s financial protection scheme and protects you when you book a holiday with a UK ATOL holder. It ensures you do not lose money or become stranded abroad if your ATOL holder collapses.
ATOL stands for Air Travel Organiser’s Licence and is backed by the UK Government.
ATOL was first introduced in 1973, as the popularity of overseas holidays grew. After a number of travel business failures left people stranded, the UK Government realised consumers required protection when their travel providers fell into difficulties.
The scheme was designed to cover charter flights and package holidays, and functioned well for years. However, the holiday market changed considerably and the scheme was overhauled in 2012 and again in 2018 to keep pace with these changes.
ATOL stops you losing money or becoming stranded abroad if the travel business you booked with collapses:
UK and European law says your holiday must be protected if you book a package. ATOL is a UK financial protection scheme and protection applies to most air package holidays sold by UK travel businesses. The law says your holiday must be protected if you book a holiday with a single travel firm that includes:
The scheme also applies to some flight only bookings – usually those where you book flights (including UK domestic flights) but do not receive your tickets immediately. This is most common with charter flights, but can also apply to discounted scheduled flights or where you pay for flights in installments. Please note that ATOL does not apply to flights booked directly with scheduled airlines or to flights booked with airline ticket agents.
If you purchase an airline ticket from an airline or travel business and you receive a valid ticket in exchange for payment, ATOL does not cover this flight sale.
UK and European law requires travel businesses to financially protect their package holidays in the countries in which they are established. Businesses based in the UK provide their protection under the ATOL scheme while those based in other European Member States provide their own financial protection schemes. Travel businesses are required to tell you which country will be responsible for financially protecting your booking.
You can also check to see if your booking is ATOL protected by:
Making sure you check for the ATOL logo on travel websites, brochures and advertisements. If you are not sure, ask your tour operator or agent to tell if they offer ATOL protection. If they offer protection in a different country then you might find the information in Booking with European travel firms who do not offer ATOL protection helpful.
Use Check an ATOL facility. This allows you to check that the travel business you are booking with is part of ATOL.
Make sure you are given an ATOL Certificate. The law says you should be given a certificate to show if you are covered by ATOL as soon as you have booked and paid any money towards a holiday or flight.
