Most of the british holidaymakers affected by the collapse of tour operator XL Holidays are expected to be back in Ireland, UK by tonight, it was confirmed yesterday. However, the Commission for Aviation Regulation is considering hiring some temporary staff to cope with over 3,000 refund claims from XL customers who were due to go on holidays over the coming weeks. The commission was already “under pressure” with thousands of claims being processed from the recent collapse of other Irish travel companies such as Fáilte Travel and Great Escapes, a spokesman said.
The commission has arranged alternative flights for most of the 1,200 Irish tourists who faced the prospect of being stranded last week following the collapse of Britain’s third-largest tour operator, XL Leisure Group, and its Irish subsidiary which traded as XL Holidays.
Holidaymakers are due to leave on flights bound for Cork and Dublin from Santorini in Greece today. Some 160 passengers who were due to fly from Palma in Spain on Saturday are expected to be accommodated on a flight at midday today. Yesterday 292 people were repatriated on two separate flights from the Bulgarian resort of Bourgas to Dublin and Knock. Some 300 passengers were repatriated over the weekend, on a flight from Skiathos in Greece on Friday night and a flight from Reus in Spain on Sunday.
The travellers from Reus had been due to fly home two days earlier on Friday. However, as with other XL customers who were forced to stay extra nights, they will be entitled to claim accommodation and refreshment expenses from the commission. Tomorrow, 140 passengers will be flown from Mykonos and Zakynthos in Greece to Dublin. The final group of 166 is due to fly from Faro to Dublin via Knock on Thursday. Some 30 other tourists are making their own way home when their holidays finish towards the end of this week. The Irish Times
Some of the first of the stranded customers arrived back in the UK on Sunday, but around 10,000 others are still waiting for replacement flights. Many of those still waiting are travellers who booked their flights either directly with the airline or through the travel company’s website, xl.com, meaning that they are not covered by ATOL, the plan that protects holidaymakers who book through participating travel agents. “We are facing a huge task to find replacement planes,” said an ATOL spokesperson. “People who booked flights only will have to arrange their own flights, or wait for spare tickets on the replacement flights at cost price.”
Travellers waiting on Sunday at Dalaman Airport in Turkey for replacement flights, found themselves either in a group holding Freedom Flight tickets, which were issued as part of an entire package holiday by XL, or in a group holding identical tickets, but issued by XL direct. Freedom Flight ticket-holders waited in an airport lounge where they were provided transportation to free overnight accommodation and then seats on an alternative flight back to the UK. Travellers who had booked their flights with XL direct found that they were on their own.
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