IGNORE THIS. LOADED TWICE FOR SOME REASON: AITO fights back over plans to scrap small business ATOLs

AITO has vowed to fight back against the Government’s plans to axe its small business ATOL.

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It has accused the CAA of punishing the good guys, rather than tackling the rogue traders and is calling for it to abandon the proposed changes.

AITO Chairman Derek Moore said the move would impact over 30 of its specialist tour operator members and would burden them with "substantial extra costs".

"AITO feels that the time has come to fight back. We are convinced that the best way forward is for the CAA to tackle the rogue traders abusing the SBA scheme rather than to punish the good guys, including AITO’s SBAs," said Moore.

"Unfortunately, there seems to be a general malaise in Government – rogue traders are allowed to continue operating outside the law, many internet-based businesses remain unregulated, and all the talk about supporting SMEs appears to be mere empty words."

Moore is relaying AITO’s concerns to the CAA today at its quarterly ATIPAC meeting.

"We have already started a dialogue with the CAA on this important issue and hope for a positive outcome," he added.

"The Consultation Paper is very much a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and we hope that the CAA will reconsider. The CAA states that the SBA scheme has cost it £3.9M over the past five years, and that it seeks to ensure a fair and proportionate financial protection scheme.

"We think they’ve missed the fact that the annual deficit (£780,000) divided by the number of SBAs (950) gives an annual deficit per company of just £821. Making a reasonable effort to identify the risky companies and charging each SBA a few hundred pounds more per annum would thus wipe out the deficit and would be far more cost-effective than what is currently proposed."

He said the SBA assists entrepreneurs starting up or running small companies to comply with regulatory requirements without breaking the bank or being tied up in red tape.

The CAA argues the scheme should be scrapped because small business ATOL as holders are a greater risk, while not paying a ‘fair’ and ‘proportionate’ amount towards the scheme.

It said the proposal, which is going out to the travel industry for a three-month consultation, is intended to redress the balance of the protection scheme which the CAA views as no longer fair.

If the changes go ahead, the current 900-odd small business ATOL holders will have to join one of the eight accredited bodies or an ATOL franchise rather than ‘go it alone’.

Small business ATOLs are for companies licensed to carry a maximum of 500 passengers a year.

Travel firms will still be able to apply for an ATOL but there will no longer be a ‘cheaper’ version available for small tour operators and agents under the proposed changes.

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