Tapestry Holidays failure cost Air Travel Trust Fund £2.5m
The failure of Tapestry Holidays added an extra £2.5 million on to the Air Travel Trust Fund deficit last year.
The collapse of the high profile specialist tour operator in August 2006 is responsible for most of the £3.2 million call on the fund in the financial year to March 31.
Tapestry, owned by Nick Wrightman, provided a bond of £1.7m, covering some of the costs of repatriating and compensating pasengers.
But the rest was made up by the ATTF, whose deficit has now been tipped over the £20 million mark.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said the timing of the collapse, in the peak season, compounded the costs.
“A bond is based on an average throughout the year, so sometimes if a company fails in the peak season, this can lead to a call on the fund,” he explained.
Nearly 1,500 people were overseas and 2,700 people were paid refunds.
He said there were no plans to investigate Tapestry for over trading.
The CAA is due to release more detailed figures of ATOL holder failures in the financial year to March 31 this Friday.
The latest figures have led to renewed calls for a £1 levy to help pay off the deficit and to cover the cost of future failures. See separate story.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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