[Nieuws] Engelse Touristen stranden in Orlando door failliete touroperator

Uit de Orlando Sentinel:
British tour operator strands passengers in Central Florida

Sandra Pedicini | Sentinel Staff Writer September 13, 2008 SANFORD - More than a thousand British tourists who flew into Sanford for vacations in the sunshine were scrambling to find a way home Friday after the financial collapse of the tour operator that brought them here.

Thursday night, XL Leisure Group PLC went into administration -- the British equivalent of bankruptcy.

The Orlando Sanford International Airport terminal was jammed Friday afternoon with tired, frustrated travelers. Some said they had spent hours unable to get information from the tour operator or at the airport.

"We couldn't get any answers from anyone," said Sofia Nayler of Oxfordshire. Her young daughter lay sprawled on the floor, a towel under her head for a pillow.


The British Civil Aviation Authority, which took on the task of getting XL's passengers home, estimated that 50,000 customers abroad had booked through an XL tour operator, including 10,000 on holiday with XL Airways and 25,000 with other tour operators who shared the XL flights. Many of those were in Florida.

One airplane that had started to depart Thursday night was brought back to the gate when its crew was notified that the airline had been placed in administration.

"This caught us all off-guard," said airport Vice President Diane Crews. "We didn't have any forewarning of this."

Some of the more than 250 passengers on that flight found hotels while others stayed in the terminal overnight. The airport arranged for Denny's to provide food to the stranded passengers.

Michelle Cleaver of Brighton had expected to be flying home first-class Thursday night. Instead, she spent a not-very-comfortable night sleeping in a chair at the airport. On Friday, the airport had arranged for her and others to get another flight out of Sanford. But others faced a more challenging trip home.

One group of tourists was told late Friday afternoon that Virgin Atlantic had agreed to fly them home -- but they would have to travel to Orlando International Airport to catch the flights. Dean Churm, British consul representing Florida, urged them to get taxis or rent cars and brave rush-hour traffic to make it in time for the 8:30 p.m. flight.

Buses would also be provided, Churm told them, but he didn't know when they were coming and whether they would arrive at OIA in time.

"I can't guarantee you anything," Churm said. "I'm just doing something in the absence of the airline."

Churm said he didn't know how many affected travelers had flown into Sanford. But the British consulate was dealing with about 1,200 passengers on Friday alone, he said, and there are likely two weeks' worth of flights here.

"For the next two weeks, we're going to have a lot of passengers in distress," he said, though he noted that time should help smooth some travel arrangements.

Many passengers said they had heard of the collapse through relatives or the news. When they arrived at the airport, travelers said they were frustrated to find few answers about what was going on.

"We need a voice," said Gary Furbink of Essex. Friday was his 21st wedding anniversary. He and his wife, Nicola, had not expected to spend it sitting on an airport floor wondering how they would get home.

"We'll be telling our grandchildren [the story] in years to come," Nicola Furbink said.

Customers were also wondering whether they would have to pay for new flights. Many passengers are protected by a mandatory British insurance plan, and new flights and accommodations likely will be paid by England's Civil Aviation Authority.

Packaging together entire vacations that are often relatively inexpensive, charter airlines are struggling because of record-setting prices for fuel.

Hetzelfde staat te wachten voor ALITALIA vluchten blijkbaar....

XL was éen van de grootste touroperator van GB...met eigen vliegtuigen enz.
Een beetje wat Arke hier in Nederand is.