EU member states were given until January 1 to transpose PTD 2 into national law, and it will apply from July 1, but the industry has no clearer view of what the regulations it will be working to will look like.
The Department for Transport (DfT) and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are working towards the summer deadline.
Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the Association of Atol Companies, told TTG: “They [the government] just haven’t done anything [about implementating PTD 2].
"It will be the travel industry that’s punished by the government’s inaction.
"If there is a grace period, say three months, this still won’t be long enough to make the required changes to things like IT systems.”
Over the past two years, the DfT has consulted on changes to Atol, while BEIS has been tasked with updating the UK’s Package Travel Regulations.
Meanwhile, the CAA and DfT issued further consultations on Atol last month, giving the industry until March 23 to respond.
The DfT is considering broadening the scope of Atol protection under a new definition of a “package” and updating which “groups” need Atols.
However, Bowen said the latest consultation periods were too short and had come too late: “Agents still don’t know what a package will constitute after July 1,” he said.
