Customers complain Flybmi ‘sold tickets hours before collapse, knowing they wouldn’t be honoured’
Which? has spoken out after accusations that Flybmi sold tickets hours before going bust, knowing they wouldn’t be honoured.
Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor, issued a statement on Saturday following news the airline had ceased trading.
He said: "Some customers have claimed that tickets were being sold in the hours before the airline went bust, knowing full well those tickets would never be honoured, and passengers will rightly be outraged if this is proved to be the case."
The day before it collapsed, the airline had sent a tweet encouraging customers to fly to Munich for a winter snow break.
Pilots’ union BALPA said news the airline had ceased trading had come as a complete surprise to its members.
Which? also reminded consumers to get adequate cover, saying: "It’s never been more important for people to check they have some cover."
Boland added: "Instability in the travel industry has seen several airlines collapse in the last 12 months – exposing thousands of people to the nightmare of having their trip cancelled at the last minute or struggling to get home from abroad.
"That instability looks set to continue, potentially putting easter and summer holiday plans at risk. It’s never been more important for people to check they have some cover – by ensuring their travel agent offers ATOL protection when booking a package holiday or considering scheduled airline failure as an add-on to travel insurance for those booking flights."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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