A major operation to get stranded air passengers home for Christmas began today following the collapse of 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.
About 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 UK hubs including Manchester, Gatwick and Belfast.
The Department of Transport in Britain has been working with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and low-cost airlines to try to bring stranded travellers home at a minimum cost.
Transport minister Paul Clark said: “I urge all affected passengers to identify themselves as former Flyglobespan customers to alternative carriers in order to ensure they benefit from special repatriation fares.
“My principal concern is to ensure that those who are currently abroad are able to get home for Christmas.”
Last night’s announcement came from administrators Pricewaterhousecoopers (PWC) who said the firm had collapsed after failing to secure extra funds which it had been seeking.
They attributed the cashflow crisis to a lack of confidence in the sector following the demise of other airlines.
PA