APC is the main source of income for the Air Travel Trust. It started at £1 per passenger on 1 April 2008 and rose to £2.50 for bookings taken from 1 October 2009, after the collapse of a large travel group in 2008 and the recession.

Who pays

The ATOL holder pays. An agent for an ATOL holder does not pay APC itself, because its principal reports and pays for the bookings the agent takes, and an Accredited Body pays on its members’ bookings. APC is due only on ATOL-protected bookings, not on accommodation-only bookings, packages without flights or flight-only tickets sold under an exemption.

Who counts as a passenger

APC is due for each passenger booked, not for each flight. A child under two who is not given their own seat does not count. So two adults, a five-year-old and a baby on a parent’s lap make three passengers, and £7.50 of APC. If the baby has its own seat, that is four passengers and £10.

Reporting and paying

Standard ATOL holders report the passengers they have booked within 14 days of the end of each reporting period and pay within six weeks of the end of each payment period. The period is monthly where the ATOL holder, or the group it belongs to, has an ATOL revenue limit of £5 million or more, and quarterly below that. Small Business ATOL holders also report quarterly, but they make an advance APC payment and then pay once a year, within six weeks of their licence expiring.

Worth knowing

APC is not a government tax or a fee for the ATOL Certificate. As part of ATOL reform, the CAA proposed in 2021 replacing the flat rate with a variable one based on risk, booking value or both, but no change has been made.