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Scores stuck as another tour operator goes bust
Elizabeth Hopkirk, Evening Standard15 Sep 2008
Hundreds of British holidaymakers were stranded in Turkey today after another tour operator went bust.
K&S Travel is the second holiday company to close in four days after the collapse of XL Leisure Group left tens of thousands stuck.
The closure of K&S yesterday meant more than 500 holidays worth thousands of pounds were cancelled.
The Civil Aviation Authority was today arranging emergency flights home. A CAA spokesman said all the K&S tourists - most of whom were in the resort of Bodrum - would get full refunds through the Atol protection scheme.
Dalston-based K&S, also known as Travel Turkey, organised package tours to the country and chartered flights with Onur Air from Gatwick and Stansted.
The CAA is rechartering planes from Onur to minimise disruption and said holidaymakers should be able to fly home on their original departure date.
Two other travel companies have collapsed in recent weeks, XL on Friday and Zoom Airlines last month, with both blaming the credit crunch and soaring fuel prices. Fears are rising that Italian carrier Alitalia will be the next high-profile victim as the Italian government looks set to stop propping up the airline today.
About 85,000 holidaymakers were still stranded abroad today after XL's unexpected collapse. The CAA is mounting an enormous rescue operation with more than 22,000 passengers allocated seats on repatriation flights so far. Customers who booked XL packages will get a refund but those with flights only are not covered by Atol.
CAA director of consumer protection Richard Jackson said: "The CAA, with help from the travel trade, has been working hard to look after XL customers. This is a massive logistical exercise."
