ATOL Franchise

  • Every UK travel organiser selling flights, flights and accommodation or flights with other travel services is required to hold an ATOL, which stands for Air Travel Organisers Licence. ATOL is a government-run financial protection scheme operated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

    ABTOT has been a CAA Franchise holder since 2017 which enables ABTOT Members to apply for an ATOL through ABTOT Membership without having to meet the CAA’s increased financial criteria.

    ABTOT ATOL Franchise Holders benefit from reduced application fees and reduced APC payments. Franchise Members may require additional bonding for their flight inclusive packages, subject to underwriting assessment, as well as an insurance backed Travel Bond for their non-flight packages. The ABTOT team will help with your ATOL application and quarterly declaration submissions and as the ABTOT ATOL Franchise is guaranteed by travel bonds, the administration is simple and straightforward enabling you to focus on selling holidays not constantly declaring them.

    If applying direct to the CAA for a new Small Business ATOL, the CAA requires travel organisers to have a minimum paid up share capital of £30k and to arrange a £50k bond, which which tends to reduce by £10k every year for the first five years.

    If you apply for the ATOL Franchise, there is usually no additional financial criteria on top of ABTOT’s Membership criteria of £10k paid up share capital. Your bonding will be  looked at as part of your underwriting risk assessment and will form part of your Membership terms.

    ATOL Franchise

    • The ABTOT ATOL franchise is up to 1,000 passengers per year in conjunction with ABTOT Merchant Acquiring Facilities. A higher number of passengers per year can be offered on a case by case basis and this will require a standard ATOL at the full application cost.
    • Reduced ATOL application fees for members under 1,000 ATOL passenger limit
    • Reduced ATOL renewal fees for members under 1,000 ATOL passenger limit
    • Discounted APC payments
    • Shorter version of the ATOL Application form with assistance from ABTOT to complete it
    • Reduced financial reporting requirements
    • ABTOT Membership is a condition of the ABTOT ATOL Franchise and an ABTOT bond will be needed for your non-licensable (non-flight) bookings as well as your ATOL bookings.

    ABTOT: Single point of contact for ATOL, Travel Bonding and Merchant Acquiring Facilities.

    Steve Berry, MD, Mountain Kingdoms Limited

    “Mountain Kingdoms Ltd are very pleased to yet again receive renewal of our membership of ABTOT. We have been members for a great many years and in all that time we have received the most friendly, prompt, and excellent help from the team at ABTOT. We were particularly pleased when they instigated a franchise scheme with ATOL, meaning that since then they have assisted greatly with the job of renewing our annual ATOL license. Long may we continue being members.”

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