Package Holiday Rights UK: Refunds, Changes and ATOL

If you book a flight and hotel together as one package and the company cancels it, you are entitled to a full refund within 14 days. This guide explains what counts as a package, your refund and change rights, and how ATOL protects you if the operator fails.

What Counts as a Package Holiday

Under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, a "package" is generally a pre-arranged combination of at least two different types of travel service, such as a flight plus a hotel, or a flight plus car hire, sold together for one price for the same trip. It does not matter whether you booked everything from one seller or the parts were combined by a travel agent or tour operator; what matters is that the services are combined and sold, or held out for sale, as a single package.

This matters because a package carries a much stronger set of legal rights than booking the same trip piece by piece yourself. If you book a flight from one website and a hotel from another, that is not a package under these regulations, even if you are travelling on the same dates (see below).

Cancellation and Refund Rights (Regulation 14)

If the organiser cancels your package (Regulation 13) before you depart, you are entitled to a full refund within 14 days of the cancellation, under Regulation 14(3) of the 2018 Regulations. This applies whether the organiser cancels because of its own commercial decision or because of circumstances affecting the trip. You deal with the organiser you booked the package with, not each individual airline, hotel or supplier separately, because the organiser is responsible for the performance of the whole package.

The 14-day refund clock runs from when the organiser cancels, not from when you first ask for your money back, so if a refund has not arrived within 14 days of the cancellation, that is a clear breach you can escalate (see how to complain about a company).

Significant Changes Before You Leave (Regulation 11)

Sometimes an organiser does not cancel outright but wants to make a significant change before you travel, for example a major change to your flight times, a change of destination, or a price increase. Under Regulation 11, if the organiser proposes a significant change, you generally have three options:

• Accept the change as offered.
• Take a suitable alternative package, if the organiser offers one, of equivalent or higher quality where possible.
• Cancel the package for a full refund, with no cancellation fee, because the significant change was not something you agreed to when you booked.

A price increase of more than 8% of the total package price is treated as a significant change in its own right, giving you the same right to accept, take an alternative, or cancel for a full refund, rather than simply having to pay the extra amount or lose your booking.

ATOL Protection If Your Holiday Company Fails

Most flight-inclusive package holidays sold in the UK must be protected under the ATOL scheme (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing), administered by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). ATOL protection means that if the company you booked with stops trading, you are either refunded, or, if you have already left, able to complete your trip and get home at no extra cost.

You should be given an ATOL certificate as soon as you pay any amount towards an ATOL-protected trip. It sets out which parts of your holiday are financially protected and which ATOL holder is responsible for that protection. Always check that a package including a flight is ATOL protected, and keep the certificate somewhere safe until you return.

DIY Bookings Are Not a Package

If you book your flight and your hotel yourself, separately, from two different websites or providers, you have not bought a package under these regulations, even though you end up with the same trip. Each booking is a separate contract with a separate supplier, and if one part goes wrong, for example your flight is cancelled, that does not automatically entitle you to anything from your hotel, and vice versa. You do not get the organiser's single point of responsibility, the Regulation 11 significant-change rights, or the Regulation 14 refund duty that come with a genuine package.

This is a real trade-off, not just a technicality: a self-arranged (DIY) trip can sometimes be cheaper, but it carries meaningfully weaker consumer protection than booking the same combination as a package with one organiser.

Paying by Card Gives You a Second Route

However you paid, your rights against the organiser under the Package Travel Regulations stand on their own. But if you paid all or part of the price on a credit card, you may also have a claim directly against the card issuer under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (see section 75 claims). Both debit and credit card payments may also be eligible for chargeback, a card-scheme process your bank can use to try to reverse the payment (see chargeback). These are separate, additional routes on top of your package travel rights, not a replacement for them.

A Note on the Proposed 2026/27 Reform

A separate reform has been proposed to change how organisers recover money from their own suppliers when things go wrong. That proposal is about the timing of payments between the organiser and its suppliers, behind the scenes. It does not change your 14-day refund right as a consumer if your package is cancelled, and it does not weaken your Regulation 11 rights on a significant change.

Related Reading

If your holiday involves a flight that is delayed or cancelled on its own, rather than the whole package, see flight delay compensation for how UK261 works. For your general rights when buying goods and services, see the Consumer Rights Act 2015. For the wider picture, see the UK Consumer Rights hub and the United Kingdom hub.

This article is general information about package holiday rights in the United Kingdom, not legal advice, and does not cover every possible dispute, such as claims for distress or inconvenience beyond a refund. For free, independent guidance on a specific problem, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133. For the wider picture, see the UK Consumer Rights hub and the United Kingdom hub.