Good news is its only ging up £1.50
ATOL Increase APC by 150 per cent
Travellers taking holidays protected by the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (ATOL) will have to pay more towards the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) from October this year.

The summer holidays of 2009 represent the last time that customers will only have to pay £1 toward APC, before the levy is hiked up to £2.50 on 1 October 2009. The 150 per cent increase has been approved by ATOL in light of worrying plunges of reserves at the Air Travel Trust Fund (ATTF).

Whilst an additional £1.50 cost on travel is unlikely to severely dent the wallets of UK customers taking flights to Tenerife or a New York holiday, for the travel agents and tour operators the increase is a significant burden to carry. ATOL representatives said that the increase to APC was a positive thing for holidaymakers, as it worked out cheaper than buying individual airline failure travel insurance.

Paul Clark, the parliamentary secretary of state wrote in a statement: “I believe this strikes the right balance between ensuring the financial stability of the Air Travel Trust Fund (ATTF) while keeping additional burdens on travel companies and consumers as low as practicable.”

ATOL took advice from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) when deciding on a reasonable level of APC increase. After consultation, the CAA said that 52 per cent of their Consumer Protection Group agreed an increase in APC was necessary, but advised on a moderate increase. “A range of between £2 and £3.50 has been suggested as being tolerable,” the CAA report said.

With that in mind, ATOL have stretched the industry and consumers, but not nearly as much as they might have. An increase to £2.50 is a compromise that should help the industry through the challenging times ahead.