Brits face holiday turmoil as travel company loses licence
A travel firm has lost a key licence, which could leave large numbers of customers facing cancelled summer holidays. Great Little Escapes has lost its ATOL licence, leaving holidaymakers in limbo.
The Sandhurst-based firm was known for offering a diverse range of holidays from adventure trips to spa retreats and family resorts but is no longer an ATOL holder. The company is different from and not connected in any way to Great Little Breaks, reports the Mirror.
The Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement: "The company based in Sandhurst, Berkshire traded under the names Your Holidays, Great Little Escapes, Tunisia First and websites www.themaldives.co.uk, www.yourholidays.co.uk, www.thecaribbean.com and www.greatlittleescapes.co.uk."
"We are currently collating information from the company and will update this page as soon as possible. While waiting for further information, please do not submit a claim as these will be rejected.
"If you are a travel agent of Great Little Escapes LLP and you are currently holding consumer payments which you have not yet paid to Great Little Escapes LLP, you must not use these funds to refund consumers until you have received instructions from the Air Travel Trust.
"Travel agents will be individually contacted by the CAA with specific instructions for these bookings."
The news came in the month after a separate British travel firm went bust. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
Jetline Travel, a London-based firm established in 2000 and the parent company of Jetline Cruise, ceased trading as an ATOL holder in March. It has now entered administration, as reported by TTG.
Alan Clark from financial recovery specialist Carter Clark, and Neil Bennett from restructuring and insolvency firm Leonard Curtis, were appointed on 28 March.
Administration is a process that occurs when a business can no longer meet its debt obligations, leading to a licensed insolvency practitioner being appointed to either restructure the business and negotiate with creditors, or to sell off assets, pay off creditors and liquidate the business.
Over its 25 years of operation, Jetline Travel took hundreds of thousands of people on holidays. During this quarter of a century, the firm also traded under several other names including Bargain Late Holidays, Best Priced Holidays, Cruise and More, Elegant Getaways, Our Best Holidays and Save on Sun.
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