Passengers Could Approach New Air Bill To Treat Hose Failures-00-7126

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The Coalition is ready to revive the plans which were rejected by Labour, following pressure from major airlines.

Below current arrangements protection - Below the Air Travel Operators Licensing system (ATOL) system - is limited to those who have bought a package holiday.

There is a growing belief in Whitehall that the arrangements have not held up with the do it yourself holidays, in which families put together their own packages via the internet.

Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, made clear that the Government was ready to overhaul the current system when he appeared before MPs earlier this week.

We clearly have a problem with the ATOL scheme, he told the Transport Select Committee.

Over the last few years the way in which humans buy holidays has changed, he said.

The use of the internet, the use of a a great deal more à la carte approach to buying flights and accommodation has made the clear distinct between what is a package holiday and what is not a package holiday much less clear.

Mr Hammond said that a extending the ATOL system to plane tickets was an option under ...
... considerateness.

Former proposals drawn up by the Civil Aviation Authority under the last Government would have added £1 to the cost of each trip.

It was drawn up following a severe of airline collapses, including Zoom, XL, Maxjet, Silverjet and Eos.

Last year nearly 200 million flew abroad from British airports last year.

But the levy, whether or not introduced, would only utilize to those passengers who bought their tickets in the United Kingdom.

Ministers are also considering a compromise proposal in which the ATOL system would be extended to cover humans who bought a flight and one other factor - suchlike accommodation or car hire - from the same internet-site or tour operator.

The willingness of the Coalition to revisit the system was welcomed by the Air Transport Users Council.

We believe there's a need for a universal system which would include protection for when a scheduled airline went bust. A levy would be the most pragmatic way of doing this.

Our own exploration has shown that less than a third of passengers even know they have any protection or not.

It can result in a pretty unpleasing shock and a hefty bill for a passenger when an airline fails.

In the past when a carrier has failed, airlines have offered ‘special repatriation' fares, but there's no guarantee they will next time.

The proposed levy was condemned by British Airways. "We would protest any move to be included in such a system as charging passengers an further and added fee will put up prices for every one to defend the minority affected by scheduled airline failure," a spokesman said.

"We are a well traditionalistic airline and it would be unfair whether or not our customers had to fund compensation for those who choose to travel on less traditionalistic airlines.

"Due to our passenger numbers, our customers would pay a considerable share of the funding to provide protection against other airlines' bankruptcy. "

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