How to protect yourself from an airline going bust, as Italy’s Alitalia goes into administration
Travellers who bought flights directly from Alitalia aren't protected because the airline is not a member of ATOL
ITALY'S flagship carrier Alitalia went into administration this week, but the airline confirmed that it will continue running flights for the next six months.
The airline operates around 12 flights a day from the UK to Italy.
British holidaymakers who have already booked a flight with the airline will not be impacted if their flight is within the next six months, with all flight bookings honoured.
A spokesperson for the UK travel body ABTA said: "Alitalia will continue to honour bookings for the next six months while it looks for a new refinancing package to keep it in business.
"That means the administration will only affect those who have flights booked in seven month's time or later, in which case protection will depend on how you bought the flights."
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How to protect yourself if an airline goes bust
By law, travel firms that sell package holidays - so flights and accommodation - are required to hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL).
This includes firms like Thomas Cook or Thomson.
If a travel firm has an ATOL and ceases trading, the scheme protects customers by flying them home or refunding their cash.
But those who book flights directly with an airline aren't protected by the same scheme.
In this instance, your only protection would be via your credit or debit card, or travel insurance.
If you pay by credit card and something goes wrong, you’ll be protected under the Consumer Credit Act – as long as you spend more than £100 and less than £30,000.
If you pay by debit card, there’s no legal protection, but some banks will refund you under the chargeback scheme.
There’s no minimum spend and you’ve got up to 120 days to make a claim through your bank.
And if you pay by PayPal, then you should be covered by its buyer protection scheme – but you must claim within 180 days of paying.
In March, thousands of British holidaymakers had their holidays cancelled after Diamond Shortbreak Holidays went bust.
The Leicestershire-based tour operator sold holidays to destinations around the UK and other European locations.
Luckily, around 16,000 holidaymakers who had booked non-flight-based package holidays with the firm were financially protected through ABTA.
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