A major operation to get stranded air passengers home for Christmas began today following the collapse of Scottish airline Flyglobespan.
The carrier's Edinburgh-based parent company, The Globespan Group, went into administration last night with the loss of 800 jobs.
All flights were cancelled without warning, leaving thousands of travellers stranded abroad. Around 5,000 passengers had booked to travel with Flyglobespan over the next few days.
The airline operated flights from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, as well as transatlantic flights from other hubs including Manchester, Gatwick and Belfast.
The UK Department of Transport has been working with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and low-cost airlines to try to bring stranded travellers home at a minimum cost.
Last night's announcement came from administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers, which said the firm had collapsed after failing to secure extra funds which it had been seeking. PwC attributed the cashflow crisis to a lack of confidence in the sector following the demise of other airlines.
The group's tour operator division Globespan also folded, affecting an estimated 1,100 package holiday customers currently in Egypt and the Mediterranean and a further 27,000 with future bookings, the CAA said.
Package customers are protected under the CCA's Air Travel Organisers' Licensing scheme but airlines are not included in the arrangement.
So while those Globespan customers will get a refund and their flight home organised for them, people who booked directly with Flyglobespan are likely to have to meet the costs of travelling home themselves. They include an estimated 3,400 holidaymakers in Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Egypt.
Travellers booked on cancelled flights were advised not to go to the airport and contact the Globespan helpline or check its website for information.
Rival airlines easyJet and Ryanair offered passengers affected special 'rescue' fares to allow them to return home where their routes overlap with those of Flyglobespan.
Thomas Cook said it had arranged additional capacity for its flights out of Glasgow Airport and Virgin Atlantic said it would be running up to seven extra flights from Glasgow to Florida in the summer.
On Monday, the airline had denied it was on the brink of collapse, saying a major investment package was about to be finalised. Earlier this year, Flyglobespan announced it had made an operating profit of £1.2m sterling following a loss of £19m the previous year, reports said.
