Holidaymakers holding about £30million in refund vouchers after their breaks were lost to Covid have been warned to act quickly to make sure they don't lose out.
If the vouchers are not used to book another trip by the end of next week, travellers risk losing their holiday if the operator they booked with goes bust. The warning from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was reported by the Daily Mail.
The regulator said the vouchers, given when trips were cancelled because of the pandemic, can be cashed in for a refund with the tour operator, or used to book another trip. But if that trip is not booked by September 30, the booking loses ATOL protection.That means that if the operator then goes bust, the travellers have no protection and will lose their holiday.
Refund credit notes (RCNs) were given to customers by travel firms for package holidays cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Any vouchers issued between March 2020 and December 19 2021 were covered by the ATOL scheme, but this protection will come to an end at the end of this month.
Michael Budge, head of ATOL, which is run by the CAA, said: "We are again urging people to either use their refund credit note to book another ATOL-protected trip or ask their travel company for a refund. This will affect customers of some of our biggest travel firms, so our message is simple.
"This is the last chance to make sure you continue to be financially protected by the ATOL scheme. Even if your refund credit note is valid after the end of September, it won't enjoy ATOL protection. It is better to be safe than sorry, and we are urging people still holding one of these refund credit notes to take action now."
Consumers were legally entitled to get cash refunds within 14 days when package holidays were cancelled due to the pandemic but many travel companies offered RCNs as an alternative to help their cash flow.
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