Written question asked by Peter Bone (Conservative) on Monday, 2 March 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 5 March 2009. It was answered by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour) on Thursday, 5 March 2009 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Aviation: Taxation

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to extend the one pound levy per passenger per flight to all operators of leisure flights originating in the UK; and if he will make it his policy not to increase the amount of the levy.

Answer: The Government are not planning to extend financial protection for consumers to flight-only sales. However, we are exploring other options for the reform of the ATOL scheme, with a view to increasing the clarity and simplicity of ATOL for the consumer and reducing burdens to ATOL companies.The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) intends to consult ATOL license holders this spring on a proposed increase to the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC), currently £1 per passenger. All consultation responses will be carefully considered and a final decision will be made by the Secretary of State in due course.

Secondary information