The new directive was approved by the EU parliament this week and gives additional rights to consumers. But the UK and Ireland has up to two years to implement it so things won’t change soon.
From today ATOL certificates are handed out to anyone booking ATOL protected holidays. The short answer to the question about what happens if you don’t given a certificate by your travel agent is that you probably aren’t covered in case of a problem. But ask and check.
In Ireland, Budget Travel is the tour operator. At one point, it carried over a third of all Irish holidaymakers who went abroad which probably amounted to over 400,000 people per year. On Wednesday evening they called in the liquidators.
As in the UK, there is a bonding system operated by the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) so most, if not all of the money put down by holidaymakers will be protected.
Those of you who have paid deposits or have fully paid need to download an 8 page claim form which can be found at www.aviationnreg.ie. On the website, click on the release about Budget Travel and the click on claim.
Starting today, the EU will consult with the travel industry over the next 8 weeks before coming up with new proposals on giving greater protection to travellers.
