What does ABTA membership mean for my booking?

ABTA is the UK travel association. Its members follow a Code of Conduct. A UK package sold by a member must have its money protected. This page sets out what membership means, from ABTA's own website. It lists 19 companies in the Uncompromised Travel tables whose own websites say they are ABTA members.

What does ABTA membership mean for my booking?

ABTA membership means the company follows ABTA's Code of Conduct for your whole holiday. ABTA also offers a low-cost arbitration scheme if things go wrong. A package without a flight sold in the UK must be protected, by a bond to ABTA or another approved body, insurance or a trust account; a package with a flight is protected by ATOL instead. The protection applies to bookings made in the UK.

What the official websites say, read on 4 November 2026:

• The ABTA Code of Conduct covers your holiday from start to finish and members must follow it. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• ABTA can terminate the membership of a firm for very serious or persistent breaches of the Code. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• The Code itself does not award compensation; for that ABTA offers a low-cost arbitration scheme with a legally binding outcome. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• The protection of the ABTA Code and its dispute schemes applies only if you booked in the UK. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• For packages without a flight sold in the UK, the firm may protect your money with a bond to ABTA or another organisation approved by the Department for Business and Trade, a failure insurance policy or a trust account. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• Where an ABTA bond protects your package, ABTA handles the claim unless you paid by credit card. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• Flight-inclusive packages sold in the UK must be ATOL protected; claims go to the CAA, not ABTA. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• If the ABTA member did not protect your booking, you cannot claim from ABTA. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• ABTA aims to respond to disputes within 28 days. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• Airlines are not ABTA members; airline complaints go to the airline. Source, read 4 November 2026.

How do I check ABTA membership?

Search ABTA's member list on abta.com by company name, postcode, town or five-digit ABTA number.

• ABTA members' standard statement: no ATOL Certificate means the booking is not ATOL protected. Source, read 4 November 2026.
• You can check membership on abta.com by company name, postcode, town or five-digit ABTA number. Source, read 4 November 2026.

Which travel companies are ABTA members?

19 companies in the Uncompromised Travel tables say on their own websites that they are ABTA members; check each one on ABTA's own list before you book.

Luxury tour operators: 17 companies, from the luxury tour operators table.

Safari planners: 1 company, from the safari planners table.

Local safari operators: 1 company, from the local safari operators table.

Richard Jasinski · Uncompromised Travel · written from Valencia · first published 4 November 2026 · updated 4 November 2026