Yet another Britain-based travel operator, K&S Holidays, goes under

Close on the heels of the United Kingdom-based travel operator XL Leisure Group closing shop, another British holiday firm, K&S Holidays, has collapsed, putting the air travel industry in further trouble. The fall of K&S Holidays and XL Leisure Group is the latest in a series of recent crashes in the travel industry.

Tourists from Britain were in misery on September 14, 2008, after the travel company K&S Holidays, specialising in tours to Turkey, collapsed and all holidays were cancelled.

The Civil Aviation Authority, the United Kingdom’s independent specialist aviation regulator that oversees economic regulation, airspace policy, safety regulation and consumer protection, said that K&S Travel had suspended operations from the night of September 13, 2008.

The British media quoted a spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority, who confirmed the closure of K&S Holidays, as saying: “The collapse of K&S Holidays has affected about 550 people who are either on vacation or due to depart shortly. It’s a very small failure, but it’s a failure all the same.”

K&S Travel uses flights chartered through Onur Air. Customers are covered by the Air Travel Organisers Licensing (Atol) scheme. The Civil Aviation Authority is re-chartering Onur planes to minimise disruption.

Another 400 travellers who were due to depart on holidays booked through K&S Holidays in the coming days have also been affected. The Civil Aviation Authority has urged these 400 travellers not to travel to the airport to attempt to get flights as the bookings have been cancelled. However, these travellers would be entitled to a full refund through the Atol scheme.

Though overseas package tour passengers are covered under the Air Travel Organisers Licensing (Atol) scheme, thousands of outbound customers of XL Leisure Group will have to make alternative plans on their own.

K&S Travel, also known as Travel Turkey, is based in north London. It specialises in package tours to the Turkish mainland, mostly flying with Onur Air.

The British Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said holidaymakers were covered by the Atol protection scheme, and that he Authority was re-chartering planes from Onur to get those affected back home. “We will be organising for those people affected to complete their holiday as planned and come back to the UK as planned,” he explained.

The closure of K&S Travel came even as the Civil Aviation Authority was in the process of airlifting thousands of people affected by the shutting down of XL Leisure Group.

The travel operator XL Leisure Group, Britain’s third largest tour operator, had suspended all its flights on September 12, 2008, leading to about 85,000 tourists in the United States, Europe, North Africa and the Caribbean being stranded in Britain.

For its sudden collapse, XL Leisure Group has blamed the global economic downturn and volatile fuel prices.

Peter Wyatt, chief executive of XL Leisure Group, said the airlift currently under way was “the most challenging ever undertaken” and that it is expected to cost XL about £20 million.

XL Leisure Group went into administration after it failed to get a rescue package.

Media reports said that long queues and emotional scenes continued to occur at airports around the world on September 14 as returning passengers of XL Leisure Group struggled to find a way to return and those set to start holidays came to know that their plans have gone awry.

Meanwhile, the British Civil Aviation Authority said in a press release that it had brought back 11,900 people on 52 flights as part of its attempt to repatriate some 85,000 customers hit by the shutting down of XL Leisure Group.

The collapse of XL Leisure Group prompted Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, the flag-carrier-airline of the United Kingdom, to predict that “about 30 other airlines would go out of business within the next four months.”