HC Deb 07 October 2003 vol 411 cc184-5W
Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the scope of the financial cover under the insolvency protection provisions of the Air Travel Trust Fund. [R] [131515]

Mr. McNulty

Customers purchasing package travel including a flight are protected financially in the event of failure of the travel organiser concerned. Customers abroad at the time of failure will be repatriated at the end of their holiday, and those who have yet to travel will be fully reimbursed for what they have paid. Under the terms of the Civil Aviation (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing) Regulations 1995, in the event of failure of a licensed travel organiser the bond established with the Civil Aviation Authority would be used to cover the repatriation and reimbursement costs. If the bond is insufficient to meet these costs the Air Travel Trust Fund would be used to make up the difference.

Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will bring forward legislation to change the scope of the financial protection of the Air Travel Trust Fund. [R] [131516]

Mr. McNulty

The Government have no plans to change the scope of the financial protection provided by the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing scheme, backed up by the Air Travel Trust Fund.

Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to extend financial protection to those booking accommodation through an on-line airline facility. [R] [131517]

Mr. McNulty

Accommodation booked on the same on-line facility as that used for the purchase of an airline ticket is already covered by the provisions of the Civil Aviation (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing) Regulations 1995 and is therefore protected financially. If the accommodation is booked on a different website the two transactions are legally distinct, and the two transactions do not constitute a package for the purposes of Council Directive 90/314/EEC on package travel, package holidays and package tours. The Government have no plans to amend the ATOL Regulations to extend the financial protection to cover this type of purchase.

Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what level of protection is extended under the Air Travel Trust Fund to those booking airline tickets and separate accommodation on the same website. [R][131518]

Mr. McNulty

A company offering both air travel and accommodation on the same website is obliged to have an ATOL licence, thereby financially protecting customers who buy a package. If flight and accommodation were booked separately there would be no financial protection for the accommodation; the flight, however, would be financially protected unless the vendor issued the ticket within 24 hours of payment being made. If the flight and accommodation were linked, albeit booked separately, the vendor might recognise the linkage and issue a single invoice, thereby conferring financial protection on the resulting package.