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Decision on Lowcostholidays customer protection
Customers who booked with Lowcostholidays before the beginning of this month will be protected under UK ATOL regulations.
The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed ATOL certificates are still valid for passengers who booked with the company before November 1 2013.
Passengers booking from November 1 onwards – when Lowcostholidays moved its head office to Palma, Majorca – will be protected under the Spanish system.
The CAA said its advice is "contrary to what the company told its customers".
In a statement, the CAA said: "The short notice of the transfer and the company’s failure to provide timely information about it, mean that the CAA has been unable to understand why Lowcostholidays states that their customers’ATOL certificates are no longer valid.
"Today’s announcement should assure consumers that their money is safe and that their holiday retains its ATOL protection."
Head of ATOL Andy Cohen said: "People who booked with Lowcostholidays bought an ATOL protected holiday and we believe they deserve to be able to take an ATOL protected holiday.
"This decision means that thousands of customers who had holidays booked before 01 November can be reassured that the ATOL scheme will stand behind them."
The CAA added it is in contact with Spanish regulators to ensure customers who have booked after November 1 are given information about the protection they are entitled to under Spanish law.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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