Airline collapses leaving UK passengers with worthless tickets
New airline Fly Olympic AB, which was selling flights from London to Africa via Sweden and Greece, has cancelled all its services and filed for bankruptcy.
It claimed that after two weeks of trying to find a solution to its financial difficulties, it has decided to throw in the towel.
It blamed a new operation to Africa which ‘performed dramatically below all reasonable expectations’ for the failure.
It offered flights from Gatwick to Eritrea and Somalia via Stockholm and Athens, which were featured on Skyscanner, but it began cancelling services several weeks ago leading to speculation that the airline, which launched in February, was a scam outfit.
A statement on the airline’s website, headed Theend [sic] said: "The losses sustained were too great for a company of our size to survive.
"We had discussed with several investment groups over the last 10 days in a bid to save the company but unfortunately time ran out.
"All flights are cancelled and all reservations are therefore also cancelled."
An administrator will be appointed as soon as possible to take over the running of the company, it said.
The CAA said the flights were not covered by its ATOL scheme.
Instead, it said passengers who booked directly with the airline via a credit or debit card should contact their card provider.
Passengers who purchased Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance (SAFI) should contact their insurer.
Passengers who booked through a travel agent are being directed to them in the first instance.
Passengers who paid by any other means will need to make a claim request via [email protected] as advised on Fly Olympic’s website, said the CAA.
UK customers currently abroad are advised to make alternative arrangements with other airlines.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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