Fleetway 'unable to overcome tremendous hurdles' of Covid crisis

The London and Sheffield-based company also traded under the names of Exclusive Luxury Breaks, Explorer’s Collection, Late Bargains, Luxury Holiday Collection, Phone & Fly, Sail Away, Silversurfers Holidays and Travelsmart.

It had approximately 6,500 affected Atol-protected bookings, selling a variety of packages. It employed 62 staff.

Andy Cohen, head of Atol, said: “We understand this will be concerning news for anyone who has booked to travel with the company or has had their booking cancelled. It is a sad day for the industry when a long-established business like Fleetway ceases trading.

“However, the Atol scheme exists for exactly this kind of situation and we are making arrangements so all Atol protected customers may make a claim.”

There are currently no consumers abroad on Atol-protected bookings with Fleetway.

David Baxendale and Steven Sherry of PwC have been appointed as joint administrators.

They said the companies had experienced cash flow pressures due to the impact of Covid-19.

Funding options for the business could not be concluded, leading to the administration and the immediate redundancy of 49 employees. The remaining employees will be retained to support the closing down of the business.

Stuart Jackson, chief executive of Fleetway, said: “It is with immense sadness that, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to overcome the tremendous hurdles placed in front of us.

"We have worked tirelessly to find solutions to save the company and jobs for our loyal employees that have served our 60,000 customers annually.

"However, it is immensely disappointing that the required funding or investment could not be secured to get us through this unprecedented crisis and save Fleetway Travel.”

Baxendale added: “The Covid-19 crisis has put severe pressure on the travel sector.

“We will be working closely with the Atol and Abta to ensure that the disruption for customers is minimised and we will support employees affected as much as we can during this difficult time.”

The CAA said it was “aware of a number of consumers whose bookings have been cancelled by Fleetway Travel Ltd as a result of government guidance or flight cancellations”.

Consumers that were promised but have not yet received a refund for the cancellation of their Atol-protected booking will be able to submit a claim.

For consumers that are due to travel after 13 July, flight tickets may still be valid but this must be confirmed with the airline.

If choosing to travel, consumers may be asked to pay again for replacement services of the original package holiday. However, they are entitled to submit a claim for a refund.

Replacement services may include accommodation, transfers or other services but consumers should confirm which services were included in the package holiday.

If consumers choose not to travel or their flight tickets are not valid, they will be able to make a claim.