EXCLUSIVE My family trip was cancelled by Balkan Holidays collapse - now rebooking is going to cost me hundreds more
Having saved up all year, Chantelle Thompson had been looking forward to a big family holiday to Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, due to fly on May 25, 2025.
But the 40-year-old sales assistant, husband Alan, 48, and 12-year-old son Matthew were left distraught last night whenBalkan Holidays - the travel company they'd booked through - suddenly announced it was to cease trading with immediate effect.
'I'm pretty angry,' Chantelle, from Teeside, tells us. 'We only found when Balkan put a statement on Facebook. We've not heard anything from them.
'The holiday cost £1,700, and we'd been saving up nearly a year for it.
'We don't know when our refund is going to come, and if we want to book another holiday, sorry, we don't have any money under the mattress.
'By the time we get our refund, they'll probably have put the prices up on flights too!'
Balkan, which offered holidaymakers trips to Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Malta and Northern Cyprus, said it would aim to process refunds as fast as possible, working in order of departure date.
Direct customers have been asked to contact the company directly to arrange refunds, but expectant travellers who booked trips via a third party have been told they will need to speak to their travel agent to get their money back.
Having booked through a travel agent, Chantelle contacted them first thing this morning - with Balkan having released the statement after her travel agent closed.
'They're as much in the dark as we are,' she says. 'They said, "We're shocked how this has happened. We weren't expecting it."
'They're waiting for updates from head office.'
Chantelle and her family were due to be flying from Teesside International Airport - just a 30-minute drive from where they live.
She says: 'It was perfect because my husband works behind the airport as a warehouse operative, so we could leave the car at the airport, which would've saved us money on parking.'
But alternative flights to and from Bulgaria on the same dates in May are very limited from there.
She continues: 'Unfortunately we're going to have to fly from a different airport if I want the same dates. I've checked online myself.
'We're going to have to go up to Newcastle, which I know is only an hour away, or go a couple of hours to Manchester or Leeds-Bradford.
'My son's also going to have to miss one or two days of school with other flights, as they come back late, nearly midnight, so I can't get back and expect my son to get up and ready for school with only a few hours' sleep.
'The next flights are on Monday, and he'll get back on the Monday afternoon, so he's going to miss school either way.
'He's got 100% attendance and he really doesn't want to miss school.
'We're all gutted, to be honest.'
Balkan Holidays was launched nearly six decades ago, and specialised in trips to Bulgaria.
It offered departures from 17 British airports, more than any other UK tour operator. At its peak, it served 130,000 people a year.
But its numbers have dwindled in recent years, with it being licensed to carry just 27,817 Atol-protected passengers in the year to the end of March 2026.
It said in a statement on its social media pages and website: 'We regret to inform you that Balkan Holidays Ltd has, as of 24th of April 2025, closed for business in the UK.
'The company has not gone into liquidation, however all forward holiday bookings have been cancelled.
'All clients will be notified and refunded in full.
'May we kindly ask for patience as we process the refunds and appreciate your understanding.
'Thank you for your past business and please accept our most sincere apologies for the disappointment and inconvenience.'
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