"Holiday flight woe as firm folds"

Thousands of Britons stand to lose their Christmas flights after a holiday firm operating mainly in the north-west of England and Yorkshire went bust.

The firm traded as CT2, HCCT Holiday Limited and LOCO Flights, and has not yet paid airlines for 37,000 tickets already booked by travellers.

Those 1,000 holidaymakers already away on trips booked through the firm should be able to complete their breaks.

CT2 employed 100 people at its offices in Sale, Greater Manchester.

ATOL protection

Those due to fly on trips booked through the firm should not go to the airport but speak to their travel agent or the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The CAA says the firm still holds an Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL) – the protection plan for travellers which sees firms pay a bond to cover holidays and flights in case they go bust.

ATOL protects travellers from losing money or being stranded abroad when a tour operator goes out of business.

The CAA said that under ATOL it was planning for the 1,000 or so customers abroad to complete their holidays and return to the UK.

And those with forward bookings would get a full refund, said the CAA.

CT2 had booked tickets with the airlines Jet2, Thomas Cook and Monarch to destinations mainly in Spain and the Canary Islands, on flights operating out of Manchester, Leeds/Bradford, Belfast and Blackpool airports.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6177183.stm