5th Anniversary of Thomas Cook: Delivering the biggest ATOL repatriation ever

Today marks five years since the failure of the travel company Thomas Cook Group plc, which triggered the largest peacetime repatriation in UK history. A sad day for the industry and one that will no doubt be remembered by the thousands of employees and passengers affected by this event.

The process saw over 140,000 holidaymakers brought home across 1,035 repatriation flights, with 94 per cent of passengers flown back on their original departure date, when the tour operator failed. The UK Civil Aviation Authority, manging the ATOL scheme, settled more than 250,000 claims at a value of over £350 million.

The scheme celebrated its 50^th anniversary last year. Providing UK consumers booking package holidays can fly overseas with over half a century of confidence that they will be helped home or refunded in the unlikely event their operator goes out of business.

Thankfully, travel firms ceasing to trade is a rare occurrence. As of 2024, 1,600 UK ATOL holders are licenced to carry approx. 33million passengers a year.

Michael Budge, Head of ATOL at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:

“The failure of Thomas Cook was a sad day for the industry, employees, and consumers. As holidays remain a high priority for UK consumers and with the demand for package holidays continuing to grow in popularity, this serves as an important reminder to book an ATOL protected holiday.

“The process of booking a holiday is exciting, and as we approach the popular booking period, remember to do your research and use the ATOL website to check your holiday company is an ATOL licensed tour operator before booking.”

ATOL’s top tips to protect your 2024 holiday bookings:

 Consider booking a package trip

• Rather than organising flights and accommodation separately, a package holiday offers consumer protection and convenience. Consumers can easily check if their holiday provider is ATOL protected by using the Check for ATOL tool on our website.

Do your research and look out for holiday fraud

• Research your travel company and planned trip before you book, particularly if it is a company you haven’t travelled with before, and shop around with other providers to check it really is a good deal.
• Check the web address is legitimate and has not been altered by slight changes to a domain name. Don’t reply to unsolicited emails, texts, social media or calls with holiday offers. Links and attachments in emails may lead to malicious websites or download viruses.

Use a credit card for holiday bookings if possible

• A credit card may provide additional protection for your trip, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

Book travel insurance

• It can provide extra protection if the holiday doesn’t work out quite as intended. It can protect against a range of mishaps relating from cancellations, missed transport and medical emergencies through to items lost or stolen when travelling. The type of cover will vary so always carefully check the insurance terms and conditions for full details of cover.

Keep essential documents safe

• Save and organise booking confirmations, receipts, copies of passports and insurance documents for easy access during your trip.

Look out for hidden costs and charges

• For example, if you want to amend the booking before you travel or if you need to pay for extra baggage.

Stay updated on the latest travel requirements

• This includes passport validity, visas, and entry restrictions using the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office website. Make sure you have the necessary documents and meet the health and safety requirements of your destination.

Notes to Editors:

• The UK Civil Aviation Authority is the UK’s aviation regulator. We work so that the aviation industry meets the highest safety standards and consumers have choice, value for money, are protected and treated fairly when they fly.
• The ATOL scheme offers financial protection for British holidaymakers when they book a package trip that includes a flight.  The scheme steps in to protect passengers if their holiday company ceases to trade, assisting them to get home if they are already aboard or allowing them to make a claim for a refund if they are yet to travel.
• Thomas Cook Group plc refers to the public listed travel group which entered compulsory liquidation on 23 September 2019, not the operator Thomas Cook Tourism that subsequently purchased the Thomas Cook name and branding.