TRAVEL COMPANY COLLAPSE HITS HOLIDAYMAKERS
19 September 2008
by Trevor Sturgess
AROUND 200 holidaymakers who flew from Kent International Airport were left stranded when their travel firm collapsed.
Seguro Holidays, a company founded in Edenbridge, Kent, in 1991, operated sunshine breaks under the Kent Escapes brand. It went into administration on September 10.
Some 2,400 customers, mainly those who flew from Glasgow Prestwick airport but an estimated 200 from KIA, were abroad at the time.
Seguro ran holidays from KIA and Glasgow Prestwick to Majorca, the Algarve, Benidorm, Costa Brava, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife.
Bosses blamed the collapse on the demise of Majorca-based Futura International Airways which operated most of Seguro's holiday flights. Futura in turn blamed high fuel costs.
"Futura's collapse was totally unexpected as an airline with over 30 planes, having a good reputation and being one of Spain's respected airlines," said Rachel Elliott and Richard Burke, Seguro's directors in a statement.
Matt Clark, CEO of Kent International Airport, said: "Naturally we are very disappointed by this development as Kent Escapes has been a successful operator here at Kent. It is unfortunate that Kent Escapes and their passengers have suffered due to circumstances beyond their control.
"All other services at Kent International Airport remain unaffected and the demand for charter holidays from the airport remains strong."
As the holidays are ATOL bonded and protected, passengers will be flown home by alternative airlines.
Passengers who have yet to take their holiday will be able to obtain a refund through the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) or their credit card company.
The CAA is advising passengers not to travel to their departure airport but to follow the ATOL claim process which can be accessed through the CAA website.
Other commercial flights out of Manston are not affected and holidays booked through the KM Group's travel business, Headline Travel, are operating normally.
The collapse of Seguro is another blow to KIA at Manston. Kent Escapes was launched with a fanfare in February 2006, and was widely regarded as a fillip to KIA after the demise of EUjet, a no-frills airline.
EUjet's collapse led to the sale of the airport to New Zealand firm Infratil, which also owns Prestwick, Lubeck, Germany, and airports in its home country.
Plans by Cosmos to operate direct flights to Norfolk, Virginia, were aborted early last year because of weak bookings.
Seguro opened a Macclesfield office in 1997 and began operating out of Glasgow Prestwick airport a year later.
Copyright 2008. Kent Messenger Limited.
Thanet Extra
Go to top
Print Page
Smaller
