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Refund Credit Notes No Longer Covered By ATOL

UPDATE: Refund credit notes are no longer covered by the ATOL scheme. If you still have one of these, contact your travel company as soon as possible.

ATOL protected refund credit notes were issued for flight inclusive package trips booked in the UK that were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

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Your refund credit note lost ATOL protection on 30 September 2022.

After this date, if you are holding a refund credit note, you won’t be able to make a claim through the ATOL scheme if that travel company stops trading as an ATOL holder.

 

Does that mean my refund credit note has expired?

Not necessarily as the expiry date for your refund credit note will depend on your travel company.

However, refund credit notes have lost their ATOL protection after 30 September 2022.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If your booking is made in the UK and is for a flight inclusive package, then it will enjoy ATOL protection regardless of the amount you spend.

If an additional credit was offered by the travel company, this will be subject to the terms and conditions set by the travel company. Any additional credit voucher offered is not ATOL protected.

Where an additional credit has been redeemed against a new booking, this additional credit is not ATOL protected.

You should contact your travel company in the first instance. ATOL protection for refund credit notes expired on 30 September 2022.

You should check the validity period of your refund credit note and if in doubt, contact your travel company.

ATOL protected refund credit notes were issued for flight inclusive package trips booked in the UK that were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These provided you with ATOL protection.

In July 2020, the ATOL scheme announced that if you accepted refund credit notes for cancelled ATOL protected trips, these would continue to be covered by the ATOL scheme.

This protection applied to refund credit notes issued between 10 March 2020 and 19 December 2021.

After 19 December 2021, travel companies were no longer able to issue ATOL protected refund credit notes for trips cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you accepted these between 10 March 2020 and 19 December 2021, you were unaffected by this change. If you accepted a voucher after this date, this is not ATOL protected.

You have the right to ask your travel company for a refund – this will still apply after 30 September 2022.

You should get in touch with your travel firm as soon as possible.

The ATOL scheme provides you with financial protection when you pay for an ATOL protected trip with an ATOL holder, if they were to stop trading as an ATOL holder. This is separate to travel insurance.