Thousands stranded as XL holiday company crashes

The UK’s third-largest package holiday group XL Leisure has gone bust.

It left around 85,000 holidaymakers stranded in airports mainly around Europe after their flights were cancelled and XL aircraft were grounded.

Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority adds another 200,000, people have made advance bookings with the company. The CAA is making arrangements to help those stranded, but anyone booking flights only via the XL website or a call centre is not protected.

Many have been left in the dark.

“We left Newport. We’ve had no information, there’s been nothing on the radio, or the coach to say about cancellations. We’ve come here and gone to the arrivals desk and they’ve told us with a leaflet that the flights have been cancelled,” complained one passenger.

XL’s sister companies in France and Germany are unaffected. In all it employs 1700 people.

Earlier this week Spain’s Futura International, Europe’s biggest medium-haul charter airline, also went into administration.