Latest Aviation in the United Kingdom Stories

Home News IN BRIEF *A second British tour operator has gone bust, it emerged yesterday, as thousands of stranded customers of the collapsed travel firm XL Leisure were being repatriated by the aviation regulator. K&S Travel told regulators that it had ceased trading on Saturday evening, leaving around 150 people marooned in the Turkish port town of Bodrum. The north London-based firm primarily organises tours to Turkey through flights chartered from Onur Air. All those affected will be...

By Ian Griggs and Jonathan Owen Fears were growing last night that the Italian airline Alitalia would collapse, days after some 85,000 British holidaymakers were stranded abroad when the travel firm XL Leisure Tours went bust. Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, rushed to consult ministers in Rome after the national carrier announced that it might be forced into liquidation. The airline's bankruptcy administrator, Augusto Fantozzi, was reported to have said flights could not be...

By Martin Hickman Consumer Affairs Correspondent One of the biggest emergency airlifts of modern history was under way yesterday as the Civil Aviation Authority sought to help 85,000 holidaymakers stranded at resorts across the world by the collapse of XL Leisure. CAA staff were working frantically to charter jets from XL's commercial rivals to collect passengers from summer "sea and sand" destinations in the Mediterranean, southern US and the Caribbean. All 50,000 people who booked a...

XL announced it was taking the action having failed to secure a rescue package.The group, which had still been taking bookings until recently, said it had been hit by rising fuel costs and the credit crunch.The Civil Aviation Authority and other travel companies launched a major operation to help holidaymakers stranded by the collapse.Administrators Kroll said customers who booked packages with the group's tour operators were protected by the CAA's ATOL scheme.But people who booked flights...

THE collapse has sparked a scramble for the few remaining flights, with carriers bumping up prices. Furious XL customers besieged the firm's main airport Gatwick this morning, one of the busiest days of the week for holiday flights. Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said everything possible was being done to get stranded holidaymakers home. She said: "The CAA have a wealth of experience in dealing with these sorts of situations and are putting systems in place to get people home, while the...

Thousands of passengers and holidaymakers are stranded abroad as the UK-based package holiday operator XL Leisure Group has gone bankrupt. The group, which operates XL Airlines, flies to destinations primarily in the Mediterranean. All its flights have been canceled and aircraft have been grounded. The travel group has blamed the economic downturn and high fuel costs for its going into administration. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said that around 85,000 people could possibly have...

By WILLIAM TINNING UP to 20,000 Scots tourists have been hit after the second travel firm in as many weeks collapsed. Some 2500 holidaymakers abroad and about 18,000 who have made advance bookings have been affected after budget package holiday firm Seguro Holidays, which has its main base at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire, announced yesterday that it had stopped trading. The announcement follows the suspension on August 28 of all operations of transatlantic budget carrier Zoom Airlines,...

THE punctuality of scheduled flights at Edinburgh Airport has improved, according to figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The number of flights on time - defined as early to 15 minutes late - has increased by three percentage points to 75 per cent in the second quarter of 2008. (c) 2008 Evening News; Edinburgh (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

BRILLIANT WEEKEND customers who booked a flight-inclusive package covered by an ATOL licence should contact the Civil Aviation Authority for advice and refunds at www.caa.co.uk Customers who booked directly with the airline, and not as part of a complete package, should refer to their credit card company as they will not be covered by the CAA/ATOL protection scheme. (c) 2008 Coventry Evening Telegraph. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

By Jeeva Arulampalam THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) says the Asia- Pacific airline industry will see profit shrink 67 per cent to US$300 million (RM1.04 billion) for 2008. The region's contraction comes as the global airline industry is expected to post net losses totalling US$5.2 billion (RM18 billion) in 2008, roughly US$3 billion (RM10.4 billion) more then IATA's earlier forecast in June. The losses, driven by high oil prices and falling demand, are based on an...