Insure against holiday problems advises the CAA

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is advising travellers who book summer holiday deals themselves to make sure they are properly protected should individual providers of services go bankrupt.

The CAA oversees the ATOL insurance scheme, which applies to flights bought as part of a package deal, but warns this protection does not apply to all air holidays, such as ‘DIY’ packages put together by people themselves, so holidaymakers should not assume they are covered.

Richard Jackson, director of the CAA’s Consumer Protection Group, said: "When you buy an air holiday package from an ATOL tour operator, you can be sure of a high level of financial protection.

"However, more and more people book and pay separate companies for their flights and accommodation but don’t realise they’re not getting the same level of protection as they do with ATOL. They could lose their money or even be stranded abroad."

Around 18 million people will book their own holiday package, the CAA estimates, with many mistakenly believing that they would be protected should their airline, hotel or car hire company cease trading.

Instead people could end up stranded overseas and have to buy new tickets or pay for accommodation again, so the CAA is passing on the following tips:

- Check that your travel firm has an ATOL by looking for the ATOL logo and licence number in brochures and on websites. You can check by visiting www.atol.org.uk.

- If buying online, do not book until you are sure you are covered, ask the travel firm whether you will get a full refund or be repatriated if they or a supplier stops trading. if not think again.

- If you are not ATOL-protected, travel insurance can provide some cover, but as most policies do not cover insolvency, you need to check carefully that your insurance gives this cover. Remember also that it may only cover part of your holiday arrangements and not other travel services you have booked separately.

- Paying by credit card will give some cover, but remember it will only apply to the service lost, not other services you have booked separately.

- You will have no cover when paying by debit card.

© Cheapflights Ltd Craig McGinty