Following the European Commission?s relaxations on Package Travel Regulations guidance, which encourage customers to accept credit notes that are financially protected, ABTA has restated support for the protection of customers? pre-payments.
Other European countries are following the guidance and changing their regulations.
Mark Tanzer, ABTA chief executive, said: ?The Package Travel Regulations will continue to protect customers? pre-payments, as they always have done. But government intervention is required to enable travel companies to continue to operate through a period of unprecedented crisis and to provide emergency support to customers.?
?Two immediate steps we have asked government for are to allow companies to refund customers over a defined period, during which their payment is protected, and to establish an emergency fund for customers where travel companies cannot recoup the customers? money from their suppliers.?
?With these government interventions, we will be able to continue to protect the customer interests and avoid a short term run on travel companies which will trigger failures and delay refunds getting to customers.?
In addition to this, ABTA has urged the government to take immediate action to prevent the collapse of UK travel companies to protect jobs and prevent damage to the UK holiday market.
