Online Official ATOL Claim Form Process
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Your travel or holiday package has been cancelled by your travel company and is ATOL-protected? You can therefore be entitled for a total or partial refund.
You will have to submit a claim with the ATOL form, that is to be completed through the CAA claims portal online. In this guide, you will find everything you need to know on ATOL claim process.
What is the ATOL claim form?
Here above you will find a specimen version of the general ATOL claim form as proposed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - the public agency which runs the ATOL program.
Good to know
Update (14th October 2020) - The CAA indicates that there is no more general ATOL claim form. All claims are now to be made through the CAA claims portal online. We provide only the above specimen claim form as an illustration - it should therefore not be used to claim.
Where do I get an ATOL claim form?
The CAA edits specific claim forms every time a travel company fails - the most famous case being the failure of Thomas Cook in September 2019. You can check the list of failed companies on the CAA website, and access there to personalized forms per failed company, clicking here.
What is the ATOL protection scheme?
The ATOL (which stands for Air Travel Organiser's Licence) is a protection scheme proposed by the UK government through the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to protect the UK citizens against their travel company collapses before departure or while they are abroad.
When can I submit an ATOL claim?
First of all, if your travel or holiday package is protected under the ATOL scheme, you should be able to download an ATOL certificate from your travel company. or agent It is given at the moment the first payment is made - even if it is only a deposit. The ATOL protection scheme covers a great majority of air travels abroad that are booked through travel companies or agent settled in the UK.
In which cases can I claim under the ATOL scheme?
There are basically 3 travel situations in which you are entitled to make an ATOL claim and ask for a refund under the ATOL protection scheme :
| Claim case a defined in the ATOL form | Description of the case | Refund to be claimed |
|---|---|---|
| 'Overseas at the time of the ATOL holder’s failure’ | When you are overseas whilst your ATOL -protected travel company stopped its business | All costs induced by your repatriation in the UK |
| 'Forward booking and claiming a full refund' | When you have valid airline tickets at the date when your travel company fails | Full refund of your travel package |
| 'Forward booking but used an element of the original booking' | When your departure is scheduled after the date of your travel company’s failure, but you have already used a part of your original booking - a flight for example | Refund of all the items of your package that have not been used |
Which document should I attach with my ATOL claim form?
In a situation where you find yourself on the 'Overseas at the time of the ATOL holder’s failure’, you should send along with your ATOL claim form every payment receipt or invoice that you produced in order to purchase goods or services in replacement of the failed travel company. In the other cases, you should also provide material proofs of all the payments made for your reservation to the failed travel company.
Where do I send my ATOL claim form?
The far easiest way to submit an ATOL claim form is to send it by email to the CAA services at the following address : [email protected]. The CAA does not specify any post address for the claims to be sent.
How do I get in touch with ATOL?
You may need to reach the ATOL services when you have a specific question or when wanting to follow-up on your claim. There are two ways you can reach the ATOL services :
- Emailing at [email protected], always providing your claim reference number (if following up) and your personal information details
- Calling at the following number : +44 (0) 333 103 6350. This number can be reached from abroad, everywhere in the world, in case your travel company has failed and you need a repatriation into the UK
How long will it take to get my money back from ATOL?
The ATOL refund process is in general quite straightforward. First, ATOL commits to acknowledge your claim within 5 working days after receiving your completed ATOL form. If the circumstances are not exceptional, ATOL aims at refunding it claimants within 28 working days.
ATOL claims and Covid-19
Many travelers wonder if Covid-19-related claims are to be covered under the ATOL protection scheme. ATOL claim forms are meant to be filled in and submitted when a company fails and the travelers finds himself without the possibility to claim back his money to it. That is why Covid-19-related travel cancellations can't be claimed under the ATOL protection scheme. However, if your travel package is ATOL-certified and your travel company or agent bankrupts because of Covid-19, the ATOL protection scheme can work.
A concrete case: ATOL claims and the Thomas Cook failure
At the end of September 2019, Thomas Cook let the tourism industry in shock when it announced its failure. The following days, the CAA had to organize the biggest repatriation operation in the British peacetime history, with almost 150,000 travelers to transport back to the UK. Were those tourists able to submit an ATOL claim form on the Thomas Cook failure? Those who had booked a travel package were effectively compensated. However, clients that had only booked plane tickets or an hotel venue were unable to get a refund under the ATOL scheme. That is why you should always check if your travel package is ATOL-protected or not.
