Earlier this month, the CAA’s new chief executive Richard Moriarty said it would not seek to sanction businesses not compliant with the new regulations until October 1 – even though PTR comes into effect on July 1.

But Stephen Mason, senior partner at Travlaw, warned travel companies they still needed to act quickly to ensure they were complying with PTR.

“As far as the Package Travel Regulations are concerned, they are coming in on July 1 – make no mistake about it,” said Mason during Abta’s recent Travel Law Seminar.

Mason said any delay in enforcement would apply solely to the Atol “implications” of the new regulations, which were “only a tiny bit of the whole package travel scene”.

“There and only there [Atol] is where this moratorium might apply,” he said. “Don’t get misled into complacency that you don’t have to do anything until July 1.

“Our advice is that if you’re selling packages or LTAs (Linked Travel Arrangements), you should get on with it. There’s not much time, even if you need an Atol for the first time.”

The industry is still waiting to receive guidance notes from the government on the new regulations, even though there is just one month before they come into force.

Simon Bunce, Abta’s director of legal affairs, said the CAA had declined an invitation to talk about Atol changes at the seminar. He also told delegates guidance notes on the new PTRs may not be issued until mid-June.