THE AVIATION regulator has advised almost 1,200 customers of a company operating Christmas tours to Lapland to seek refunds after it was refused a tour operator's licence.
Manorcastle Ltd, trading as United Travel, planned to start flights to Lapland this Friday, but has been told by the Commission for Aviation Regulation that it has no licence and should cease trading.
United has submitted a fresh application for a licence for tours to Lapland and Dubai and has appealed to the commission to show compassion, but the commissioner Cathal Guiomard has said it is extremely unlikely that a licence will be awarded.
The commission says customers should seek refunds from the company. If the firm is wound up, passengers would be able to recoup their money from the company's travel bond or the travellers' protection fund.
It refused to renew the company's annual licence last October, citing an inadequate financial situation and the fact that no charter arrangement appeared to have been put in place.
The company appealed to the High Court and continued to take bookings. Last Friday, the court upheld the regulator's decision.
"In the light of that judgment and in the prevailing circumstances of the company, the commission called upon United Travel to immediately discuss the arrangements for a wind-down of its business in an orderly manner in the interests of the travelling public, including refunding customers," the commission said in a statement yesterday.
Some customers told RTÉ Radio's Liveline they had paid more than €4,000 to bring children to Lapland in the coming days.
United's managing director, Con Murphy, said he had "all systems ready to go" if he got a licence, even a temporary one.
Mr Murphy said he has been running tours to Lapland for 21 years without any problems. After a bad year last year the company lost a considerable amount of money.
However, he had resolved the shortfall of €565,000 and put it into the firm.
Mr Guiomard said that when the licence was refused in October, he would have expected United to either refund passengers or make arrangements with other operators to take them.
He said the new application would be considered in the normal way. However, the commission would have to be sure the "defects" from the old application had been removed.
"It won't be possible to give an instantaneous answer. We will have to check that the various statements in the application are true, especially regarding financial resources."
Pointing out that there had been a number of travel company collapses this year, he said he was afraid United would take customers' money and not be able to deliver their holidays.
"I don't want to be the Grinch who has several customers in Lapland on Christmas Eve and no aircraft to get them home," he said.
Mr Murphy said he was devastated, and his staff of 12 faced a dismal future if the tours could not go ahead.
