Britain to consider airline seat levy to cover costs of failures

Airlines operating in Britain should pay a seat levy to cover the costs of getting passengers home in case a carrier goes bust, a government commissioned review said Thursday. The recommendations seek to even out anomalies in protection for British travelers, highlighted when Monarch collapsed in 2017, but airlines rejected the review’s proposed “airline seat levy” which it said would cost less than 50 pence per passenger. “Although airline insolvencies are relatively rare... they do happen – and at times have required government to step in to repatriate passengers at great cost to the taxpayer,” said Peter Bucks, who chaired the review. British transport minister Chris Grayling said he would consider the proposals by the Airline Insolvency Review, which was set up by finance minister Philip Hammond after the government and the Civil Aviation Authority had to step in to help repatriate Monarch customers. British holidaymakers who are booked onto a package holiday have what is called Air Travel Organiser’s License (ATOL) protection, ensuring they can return home and do not lose money. Monarch, which had both ATOL-protected and flight-only customers, highlighted the discrepancy in British law. <br/>