CAA plays down Air Travel Trust accounting delays amid scrutiny
James ChappleThe CAA has played down delays in publishing the full accounts of the Air Travel Trust fund (ATTF) or "Atol" fund, citing the same "resourcing challenges" which affected much of the rest of the travel sector.
The authority issued the ATTF’s 2020/21 accounts on Monday (20 February), covering the year to 31 March 2021.
They revealed the fund currently had cash reserves of £108 million and access to a further £75 million in commercial credit after being heavily depleted by the September 2019 collapse of Thomas Cook.
Loosely covering the first year of the pandemic, the accounts detail the impact of 34 failures during the year to the end of March 2021 – up from just eight a year earlier.
Notable Atol failures included those of STA Travel, APS-Select (trading as VIP Ski) and Alpine Elements. Of the 34 failures, there were four that each placed an estimated call on the ATTF of more than £1 million.
The total estimated cost of all 34 failures to the ATTF in its 2020/21 year was £11.4 million.
Earlier this month, Trailfinders called for an update on the whereabouts of the ATT’s 2020/21 and 2021/22 accounts, with publication of the 2020/21 accounts on Monday coming just shy of two years after the accounting period ended.
Publication of the ATT’s 2018/19 accounts, covering the year to 31 March 2019, also came around 18 months in arrears, and were eventually published by the CAA in November 2020.
In a statement issued to TTG, CAA spokesperson Andrew McConnell said: "The travel sector was massively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is well documented this created resourcing challenges for the entire industry.
"These resourcing challenges were also true for the UK Civil Aviation Authority and the role it undertakes as agent for the Air Travel Trust."
In their accompanying report, the trustees of the ATT said the fund had "adequate resources" on which to draw in the event of a failure "to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future".
Trailfinders said disclosure of the state of the ATTF was in the public interest, and described the delay in its accounts being published as "shameful".
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