Tour operator leaves 109 stranded in Lourdes

One hundred and nine Irish pilgrims have been stranded in the pilgrimage town of Lourdes in south-west France for two days after a chartered airline refused to bring them home because it had not been paid by the tour operator.

The passengers, from St Agnes parish, Crumlin, Dublin, are expected to travel home today following the intervention of the Commission for Aviation Regulation and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Bon Voyage Travel Ltd, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, was unable to pay their accommodation and flights, and the commission called down the firm's tour-operator bond and revoked its licence. The firm could not be contacted yesterday evening.

Last week the commission sought an injunction in the High Court to compel Bon Voyage Travel Ltd to cease trading as a travel agent as it had not secured a bond for its business. The company has since obtained a bond and continues to trade, according to the commission.

Using the bonded funds, the commission arranged the charter of an alternative aircraft and overnight accommodation. The flight is expected to arrive in Dublin at about 4 p.m. today. The group flew to Lourdes last Tuesday with Aer Mediterranee and were due to return on Sunday.

The commission's head of travel trade licensing, Mr Fintan Deere, said a potentially serious situation had been handled promptly because the bond was in place. "Unfortunately, these problems arise from time to time. The purpose of the bond is to ensure that the situation can be addressed as soon as possible with the minimum of disruption to the stranded passengers," he said.

Mr Michael McCormack, from Tallaght, Co Dublin, said his wife, Brenda, her sister, mother and aunt were on the pilgrimage and were told the flight had been cancelled on Sunday due to technical reasons. "People were beginning to panic as they had very little money left," he said.