Travel Click firm goes bust on busiest week of year for holidaymakers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As Britain's busiest week of the year for outbound holidaymakers gets under way, the first significant travel-company collapse of the summer has taken place.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced: "Travel Click Ltd trading as www.travelclickholidays.co.uk has ceased trading with immediate effect".
Travel Click had been running for five years from premises in Enfield, north London. The company advertised "Luxury holidays to Dubai, Vegas, Florida, Cyprus, Greece and worldwide". But most of its business involved putting together no-frills flights to Mediterranean destinations with discounted hotel accommodation. Some of the holidays were sold through promotional websites such as Travelzoo and Secret Escapes.
The firm's annual turnover was thought to be around £500,000, which translates at around 1,000 holidaymakers. Most of the customers affected bought package holidays that are protected by the CAA's ATOL scheme. Those abroad should be able to continue their holidays as normal, while people with future bookings for inclusive packages should be able to reclaim the cost of their holidays. With plenty of packages for this summer still unsold, they should be able to find alternatives easily - though they will have to pay again while they wait for a refund.
The outlook for customers of Travel Click who had bought flight-only or accommodation-only deals is less clear. A leading travel-industry figure, David Speakman of Travel Counsellors, criticised consumer-protection rules as confusing: "Customers believe that when they see the Atol logo they are covered for everything the company sells, but they aren't. The system is too complex."
Travel Click Ltd appeared, alongside around 50 other companies on a list of "late-renewing ATOL holders" issued in April by the CAA's Consumer Protection Group.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments