The Air Travel Insolvency Protection Committee (ATIPAC) published its response to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills’ call for evidence on proposals to revise the European Package Travel Directive (PTD).
The Committee welcomes the proposals, which it believes brings EU wide insolvency protection closer to current holiday trends. However, the Committee believes consumers should be able easily to understand the financial protection arrangements for their bookings. It is keen to make sure efforts to promote cross-border trading mentioned in the proposals do not have a detrimental effect on the consumers’ right to financial protection.
The proposed new Directive on Package Travel goes some way to addressing the issues of ‘what is a package’. The Committee is also clear that UK consumers should continue to benefit from the same level of protection that applies through the ATOL scheme – packages and Flight-Plus bookings. It maintains that the measures set out in the draft Directive should not undermine existing, effective protections through Europe and must not include anything that reduces that level of protection for UK consumers.
Uday Dholakia Independent member of ATIPAC, said:
“The European Commission’s proposed new directive covers a lot of issues that have concerned ATIPAC in the past and it does attempt to address some of the inconsistencies. The British Asian communities have experienced several high profile charter failures to the sub-continent in the recent past and as an independent member I have concerns over how the proposed directive will address situations such as this and how these relate to consumers who may suffer detrimental financial protection by some of the proposals for cross-border trading”.
Uday fully supports the comments of John Cox Chair of ATIPAC who said
“Bringing further clarity on financial protection to consumers is a key requirement. We believe this should be the Commission’s priority when shaping the final directive. It is also vital the new directive does not reduce the protection UK consumers currently enjoy through the ATOL scheme.”
ATIPAC’s full response to the call for evidence is available from the ATPAC website at: www.atipac.org.
To interview Uday Dholakia, a member of ATIPAC please contact;
Mobile 07973757601 email uday@global-consuling.com
