100 firms fail to renew ATOLs

A total of 100 travel companies did not renew their Air Travel Organisers' Licences in the latest bi-annual renewal period.

Small business ATOL holders that did not renew by the end of last month are expected to renew shortly, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

A total of 1,019 firms applied to renew their licences in the March round of renewals.

Of these, 1,004 received decisions from the CAA on their applications.

A total of 913 had renewed their licences by April 1 and a further 25 had renewed by April 3, the authority said.

CAA head of ATOL licensing Andy Cohen said: "The travel industry is trading in exceptionally difficult economic conditions.

"The application of the CAA's financial licensing criteria seeks to ensure that firms will have the financial resources to trade through these difficult conditions and that consumers can continue to have confidence in booking holidays with ATOL holders."

He added: "The majority of firms that did not renew on time were Small Business ATOL holders.

"Due to the nature of their business, renewing on time is often less critical since they are not dependent on trading with an ATOL, but we expect most to renew shortly."

The list of the ATOLs that have not been renewed can be seen on the ATOL website at http://www.atol.org.uk.

With permission from Travelmole

To directly access the relevant page on the ATOL website, please click here.
David HT Mod