Its coffers swelled from £94 million to £139 million between April 2015 and March 2016 in a period that saw 10 operators cease trading – five less than during the previous year.
It is the lowest figure of travel company closures reported by the trust since 2003.
In total, the organisation helped to refund and repatriate more than 4,700 holidaymakers at a cost of £4.8m.
The largest failure was Turkey specialist Exclusive Escapes, who closed in August with 339 passengers overseas at the time and a further 4,391 customers booked to travel at a later date.
The figures were revealed in the trust’s annual report for 2015-16.
Upon releasing the statistics, chairman Michael Medlicott said the trust’s findings showed that consumer confidence in the industry “remains strong”.
“In the last 12 months the travel industry has continued to face challenges arising from geopolitical incidents, which have impacted a number of regions and, naturally, this continues to present concerns for the travelling public,” he said.
“However, in spite of this, UK consumer confidence in the travel industry remains strong, which is reflected by the increase in Atol protected bookings, now more than 25m, and the low number of Atol holder failures which, at ten, is the lowest since 2003.
“It is encouraging to see more holidaymakers are continuing to protect their holidays through the Atol scheme, and we continue to support the CAA’s Pack Peace of Mind campaign, helping raise awareness of the benefits of Atol, and ensuring consumers can make better-informed buying decisions.
“A combination of all these factors has helped increase the Air Travel Trust fund’s surplus to more than £139m and ensures it is able to cope with the risks that this market faces.”
