Thomas Cook: Cost of collapse ‘to exceed £500 million’

Any impact on the CAA’s Air Travel Trust Fund, or “Atol” fund, will be made up – over time – by fresh contributions to the pot, currently set at £2.50 per Atol-protected passenger (APC).

The fund has recovered from serious dents in the past, such as when ILG collapsed. However, there has been debate in recent days about whether the contributions will be raised to mitigate the impact of the collapse of Thomas Cook.

Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the Association of Atol Companies, said: “Either we go for a wholesale review of how packages and flights are sold, or stick with what we have and perhaps raise the ATTF contributions to £10pp.”

Peter Bucks, chair of the government’s recent Airline Insolvency Review, told TTG: “Our research showed the £2.50 Atol contribution was well within the limits of what people would be prepared to pay for protection. The majority would be prepared to pay more – as much as £5.”

However, Travel Trade Consultancy director Martin Alcock said the CAA would be “reluctant to inflict higher APC on the sector”.