Significant movements are recorded in the renewals of Atol permits in September, according to figures published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
EasyJet Holidays increased its permit by 400,000 seats, while TUI strengthened its own by 90,000. In contrast, Jet2holidays, which remains at the top of the market, made no changes.
In total, 1,612 tourism businesses hold an Atol license, with the top three providers remaining unchanged:
- Jet2holidays: 7,043,718 passengers
- TUI: 5,942,801 passengers
- Loveholidays: 5,011,286 passengers (a big increase in March, over a million)
EasyJet holidays remains in fourth place with 3,455,570 passengers, followed by On the Beach with 2,360,597. British Airways Holidays, although keeping its license unchanged (1,178,956), rose to sixth place, overtaking Booking.com, which reduced its license by 157,000 and fell to seventh place (1,114,151).
Atol permits set the maximum number of travellers that businesses can cover over the next 12 months. Around 60% of these are renewed each September, with the remainder renewed in March. Of the 1,035 permits that expired at the end of September, 934 were renewed, while 45 are still in the process or have not met all the requirements. A total of 56 companies did not renew.
CAA Head of Atol, Michael Budge, said:
“The continued growth in Atol-protected holidays shows that travel remains a key priority for British consumers. It also highlights the value they place on financial security and certainty when booking their holidays. We encourage businesses to start the renewal process early to avoid the risk of disruption to bookings.”
