Making an application

Please note that it is not possible to provide detailed information on the likely requirements for the grant of a licence, as each application is different.

Our fees for making a Small Business ATOL application are £1,161. A full list of ATOL charges can be found in the Official Record Series 5 - Scheme of Charges.

General requirements

You can apply for a Small Business ATOL if:

• you intend to sell to less than 500 passengers a year with £1m or less revenue and intend to keep the numbers at the same level within the first three years.
• the people in control of the business have not previously been involved with a failed ATOL holder, in particular where there was a call on the back-up fund, the Air Travel Trust.

General financial & fitness requirements

As part of the ATOL application process, the CAA will assess the finances of your business which will need to meet our financial criteria.

Legally, the CAA must be satisfied that the people who own/control the business are fit and competent to hold a licence. It will request details of the history of the people in a position of influence within an applicant and consider if they are likely to operate in a proper manner if granted a licence. If its preliminary view is that the people are unfit or not competent to hold a licence, it will issue a proposal to refuse the licence application, setting out the reasons for reaching the view and giving the applicant an opportunity to put its case to us at a formal meeting.

The CAA has issued a policy note which sets out the personal fitness and competence criteria.

Apply for a Small Business ATOL

Application Form
How to Apply Guide
Bond Forms

Please send to:

ATOL New Applicants
CAA House
45-59 Kingsway
London WC2B 6TE

Application process

1. Submit an Application

An application form should be completed and sent to us, together with the applicable application fee and applicable supporting documents - please refer to the checklist at the back of the application form. Please note application fees are non-refundable.

We have produced a guide to assist in the completion of the application form. The application form includes financial projections which needs to be completed for a minimum period of 12 months. If you are unsure of how to complete the projections please talk to your accountants / auditors.

2. Initial Assessment

The application will be allocated to a case officer who will contact the applicant to request any additional information. No further progress can be made until any requested additional information is provided by the applicant.

Once all requested information has been received, the case will be submitted to a Manager who will consider setting up a meeting with the applicant.

3. Formal Meeting

At the meeting, we will go through the financial aspects of the case in detail, set against our published criteria, and outline set out any necessary cash injections. We will also outline any fitness and competence aspects relevant to the case. Finally, we will briefly run through the administration requirements to maintain the licence, and give the applicant the opportunity to raise any queries.

In most cases, a decision on the application will be concluded at or very soon after the meeting.

4. Offer Letter

Provided the applicant accepts the decision proposed at or following the meeting, a formal decision letter is issued, listing all the requirements necessary to grant a licence. The decision letter allows the applicant up to two months to meet the requirements. The ATOL number will be given to the applicant once the licence is granted.

Withdrawing an application

The CAA considers applications on a case by case basis, however it will generally deem an application withdrawn if an applicant has not actively pursued the application (e.g. by not providing information requested in writing by the CAA) within a reasonable period of time, or by going out of communication entirely for 2 months or more.

An applicant can also request in writing that its application be considered as withdrawn.

Where an application is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn, no refund will be due.

If a business subsequently wishes to 're-activate' its application, a new application will need to be made, with the payment of a further application fee and the submission of a new application form and supporting documents.