ATOL Protection

chica1625

I am currently looking to book a long haul holiday. I am being advised to book my international flights separately from the main holiday package (will be cheaper). The agent advised that because the main package includes an internal flight (in the destination country) and they have a licence then the main package will be covered by ATOL even if i book the international flights directly. Is this correct? Any thoughts? We will of course have insurance to cover the whole trip.

bagand96

When you book a package holiday you receive a ATOL certificate which will detail what's included in the holiday, and therefore what's ATOL protected. 

Anything you book yourself outside of that will not be ATOL protected. 

eskbanker

Surely the primary benefit of ATOL is the repatriation in the event of airline failure, so what's the value of having the package covered but not the long haul flights, if the invocation of ATOL (if needed) would only get you back to your overseas starting point?  I'd suggest that if you're using an agent who's unable to answer ATOL-related questions clearly, then you might be better to find another agent!

chica1625

The agent has answered my questions. I just wanted to sense check them. Based on the ATOL website I can see the following. So the first 2 bullet points will be covered (subject to ensuring accommodation and transfers are included on the certificate), but not the third as the package doesn't include the international flights.  As the international flights are a relatively small part of the overall cost (and we could afford to replace them if necessary) I think this would be ok. Any further thoughts?