Information specifically for travel companies who have consumers booked and protected by a Failed ATOL holder.
What happens when an ATOL holder fails
The CAA publishes the notice of the failure on the Register of Failed ATOL holders
The Failed ATOL holder provides data to the CAA on the status of each booking. Details of how the booking was made, financial records, and the availability of services for each booking is established.
Travel agents are contacted by the CAA and requested to provide a copy of the agency agreement that was in place between the travel agent and the Failed ATOL holder.
If an agency agreement is not in place the ATOL holder and the travel agent are in breach of the ATOL Regulations.
More information on the requirement for agency agreements is available to view on our information for agents page.
Upon determining the compliance of the agency agreement, the CAA will request the travel agent to provide further information about the bookings. Information requirements will include details of payments the travel agent received in respect of the booking and payments the travel agent made to the ATOL holder.
Meaning of “failure of an ATOL holder.”
Failed ATOL holder has a specific meaning in accordance with Regulation 23 of the Civil Aviation (Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing) Regulations 2012/1017.
Regulation 23 Failure of an ATOL holder
(1) The CAA must publish a Register of Failed ATOL Holders.
(2) “Failure of an ATOL holder” occurs where paragraphs (a) and (b) are satisfied—
(a) the CAA holds an opinion that an ATOL holder or a person who held an ATOL within the previous 6 months—
(i) has gone into insolvency.
(ii) cannot or will not be able to meet its obligations to its consumers.
or (iii) will fail to meet its obligations to its consumers.
(b) the CAA publishes a notice of the failure of that ATOL holder in the Register of Failed ATOL Holders.
(3) The date on which failure of an ATOL holder occurs is the date on which the relevant notice of the failure of the ATOL holder is published in the Register of Failed ATOL Holders.
Acting as an Agent
When appointing an agent, ATOL holders must send a written agency agreement to the proposed agent. This agreement must contain the terms of the agreement between the ATOL holder and the agent, including the terms published in the CAA’s Official Record Series 3.