Flyglobespan, a major Scottish airline, canceled all flights on Wednesday and declared bankruptcy. According to the BBC about 4,500 passengers were stranded by the airline's collapse, mostly in Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Egypt. UK authorities will seek to return about 1,100 of those stuck overseas.
PricewaterhouseCoopers was named administrator and efforts are being made to contact passengers. In a statement, the administrators said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would be responsible for the repatriation of about 1,100 people who were on holidays booked as part of a Globespan (Parent company) package holiday.
The BBC reports a further 3,400 people are overseas and are not protected by law after booking directly through flyglobespan.com. Customers who booked Flyglobespan flights directly via the Flyglobespan website or the call centre will not get a refund on the cost of their flight but the Department of Transport said they may qualify for a reduced rate repatriation fare.
Travelers booked on canceled flights have been advised not to go to the airport and contact the Globespan helpline, or check its website, for information. Competitor’s easyJet and Ryanair have offered passengers affected special "rescue" fares to allow them to return home where their routes overlap with those of Flyglobespan.
The BBC said there are also 27,000 people who have future flights booked through the Air Travel Organizers' Licensing (Atol) insurance scheme, and about 90,000 people who have forward bookings but have no Atol protection. They may be protected under their own personal travel insurance or through their credit card transaction.
Visit www.flyglobespan.