If a travel company fails after 30 September, consumers with outstanding refund credit notes will not be covered by the Atol scheme and risk losing out on money they have already paid.

Consumers are being called on to make a booking or request a refund to avoid losing money.

In July 2020, the CAA announced consumers who accepted refund credit notes for cancelled Atol-protected trips would continue to be financially protected under the scheme.

This applied to credit notes issued between 10 March 2020 and 19 December 2021. In November 2021, £132 million worth of credit notes remained unspent. This reduced further to £85 million in April 2022.

Michael Budge, head of Atol at the CAA, said: “Demand for travel is continuing to grow and we want to make sure travellers are making the most of the financial protection available to them.

“With more than £50 million of refund credit notes remaining unspent, this affects consumers booked with some of our biggest travel companies.”