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Civil Aviation Bill

My Lords, I want to make it clear that we are fully in support of the amendment. We understand the concerns being expressed about the lack of financial protection for air travellers, particularly those who are not booking, as has already been said, all-in travel arrangements from travel agencies but, as is now much more common, making their own arrangements on the internet for flights and hotels. Mercifully, low-cost airlines do not go bust regularly, but when they do it is a catastrophe for travellers who often find it very difficult and expensive to make alternative arrangements. It is also very inconvenient, as the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, pointed out, as changes often have to be made at extremely short notice, sometimes when people are trying to get back from their holidays. It is clear that travel insurance is not a sufficient answer as the arrangements needed to rescue stranded people require either empty seats to be found on other flights or charter arrangements to be put in hand by an organisation geared to do so, such as the Civil Aviation Authority. Reimbursement of ticket costs may be available if people have used a credit card but, as the noble Lord, Lord Borrie, pointed out, that is not true if they use a debit card. If this amendment is agreed to, its prime purpose is not, or should not be, to alleviate the travel companies’ responsibility under the bonding system but to ensure that all travellers are covered in a way that will bring the quickest and most efficient response to the emergency failure of an airline. It is estimated that 20 million passengers a year are not protected by the ATOL scheme. As we have heard, the £1 levy will be temporary until a fund has built up that is adequate to support what is proposed. The purpose of that is to provide the necessary assurance to all air passengers that they are covered for repatriation in the event of an airline failure. The proposals require far more consideration by the Government than was given in the letter of the noble Lord, Lord Davies, to the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, following the Committee stage. The noble Lord, Lord Borrie, struggled for a word to describe the Minister’s attitude. I would never describe the noble Lord, Lord Davies, as arrogant, but on this issue and on that letter I would describe him as being somewhat complacent about the situation. The advantages of a levy have been well rehearsed by the previous two speakers. It is obvious that it would be extremely easy to collect and is probably not something that people would notice very much. The variation in the cost of air tickets is now so enormous that you do not know whether you are paying for the seat, for the sandwich or for the fuel. You are pretty clear that the person sitting next to you has paid four times more than you have, and you hope that it is not the other way around. The sum of £1 seems a very small amount to pay in order to provide the reassurance that is now required in view of the way the travel industry has developed. This is an important proposal. It may look like only a small sum of money, but sometimes the smallest sums reap the richest and greatest rewards.