CAA 'could assume travel agency role' during future airline insolvencies

It took the input from 3,669 consumers, 33 stakeholders; 108 one-to-ones; five workshops; three expert advisory panels; and two public evidence sessions to come to one conclusion: a levy on all ex-UK air tickets to protect passengers in the event of airline insolvency.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Well we’ve been here before, sort of. There have long been calls and campaigns for a formal airline insolvency and repatriation scheme, led most notably by Aito director and travel industry stalwart Noel Josephides, but the Airline Insolvency Review’s Flight Protection Scheme is the first time such a proposal has been put before ministers.

The review, convened following the failure of Monarch Airlines in 2017, was tasked with coming up with a repatriation scheme that is simple, that minimises the effect on the taxpayer, and ensures passengers are repatriated and compensated quickly – all without putting UK-registered airlines at a competitive disadvantage.