Way home uncertain for over 140 after Mayo travel firm closes

TRANSPORT ARRANGEMENTS were uncertain yesterday for more than 140 Irish people who have been holidaying in Crete with a Co Mayo tour operator that has collapsed.

Some 489 customers of Ronane Travel Ltd/Great Escapes were abroad when the Swinford-based travel company, which operated packages from Ireland West Knock Airport, announced on Tuesday that it had closed down.

The Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) has intervened to make arrangements for stranded holidaymakers to return.

Some 79 Great Escapes customers will be accommodated on a flight from Faro in Portugal to Knock at midday today, CAR said. Some 161 passengers from Reus (Spain) and 108 passengers from Lanzarote will be accommodated on a flight tomorrow, which will depart as scheduled, it added.

However, CAR was still in early stages of discussion to arrange flights for the 141 Great Escapes customers on holidays in Heraklion, Crete, who are to due return home on Monday.

In a statement yesterday, Ronane Travel Ltd/Great Escapes said all customers would be brought home at the end of their holiday without any extra charge.

The company said it very much regretted the inconvenience caused to its customers and was co-operating fully with CAR.

Some 400 people who booked holidays with the tour operator may have to wait months for a refund. Customers can apply for a refund through CAR, but yesterday aviation regulator Cathal Guiomard said it would be a number of months before the refunds were processed.

Great Escapes was not affiliated with the Irish Travel Agents Association, but a number of ITAA members had booked packages for customers through the firm, according to ITAA chief executive Simon Nugent.

Yesterday they were trying to make alternative bookings for disappointed customers, he said.

"We have a considerable number of customers booked with Great Escapes as it was one of the major operators out of Knock Airport," Fergus Kilkelly of Robert Kilkelly travel agency in Castlebar said yesterday.

Sharon Costello, owner of Global Travel in Ballina, was busy trying to find alternative arrangements for some of her customers due to fly out this weekend.

Commenting on the recent collapse of a number of travel companies, including Fáilte Travel last month, Mr Guiomard said there had been no collapses for a long time, but the increased cost of fuel was a very important factor in companies being unable to continue.

Updates can be found on CAR's website,  www.aviationreg.ie, or call CAR at (01) 6611700.