BUDGET airline easyJet has called on the UK Government to resist calls for a £1 levy to be imposed on UK passengers in order to fund the CAA's shrinking ATOL scheme for tour operators.
The CAA has today revealed that coping with repatriations and refunds resulting from a major tour operator failure would cost around £250 million.
The CAA proposes paying for this fund through a £1 levy per passenger on all UK originating international flights.
EasyJet condemns the CAA's plans to make scheduled airlines pay for the failings of tour operators.
"There is no doubt in easyJet's view that penalising airlines and their passengers by imposing a blanket levy regardless of the fare paid or the
financial viability of the carrier flown is a highly burdensome and costly approach to the financial protection of air travellers.
"Nevertheless, easyJet has always supported the CAA's objective of plugging the gap in consumer financial protection - too few people go on holiday with adequate travel insurance yet most travellers expect to be covered for most eventualities when this is not the case."
EasyJet says it believes that, instead of introducing an old-fashioned tax to fund CAA coffers and bail out the weakest players, the UK Government
should opt for alternatives that provide a win-win situation for consumers, airlines and the Government together.
This is why it says the airline has repeatedly condemned the CAA's proposal of a £1 blanket levy on air travellers on the basis that £1 for an easyJet
passenger is:
* more onerous on airlines offering low-fares: The £1 levy would represent a 2.3% addition to easyJet's average fare compared to 0.5% of the average
British Airways fare
* discriminatory given that easyJet is a financially secure and profitable airline and our passengers are being asked to pay for those flying with
financially-insecure airlines
* does nothing for consumers by raising the cost of air travel and lulling them into a false sense of protection when taking out travel insurance will
still be very much required
* a costly intervention from Government when more efficient alternatives exist by the industry
EasyJet says it does not see why the CAA insists on managing the means by which protection is provided when airlines can provide this far more
efficiently, on a much wider scale and at a cost much more suited to their businesses, and this without penalising carriers and their passengers unduly