Hundreds stranded in north after tour operator collapse

HUNDREDS of holidaymakers remain stranded in northern Cyprus after Essex-based tour operator Travel World International (TWI) ceased trading yesterday, leaving 500 customers in total abroad.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that the holidaymakers would be protected under its Air Travel Organiser’s Licensing (ATOL) scheme, which the CAA operates under. The scheme ensures the payment of deposits, or bonds, by member companies, which pay for customers to return home at the end of their holidays, and refund those who are no longer able to travel.

TWI provided a bond of £933,500 to reimburse its customers as well as those who had not yet left for holiday.

While those customers who have booked TWI package deals must now submit refund claims, those who have only booked flights with the company may still be able to travel but must first confirm with their airlines.

Speaking of those customers still abroad, a CAA spokesman said that: “In most cases they will not notice any difference, they will come home on their normal flight.”
TWI traded under the names of TWI Flights, Jewels of the World and flightcabin.com, and specialised in flights and package holiday deals to northern Cyprus

TWI is the second travel company to shut down this week, following the collapse of London-based Tapestry Holidays 5 days ago, which left 1,500 people stranded abroad.

Tapestry offered holidays to Greece, Croatia and Turkey, and provided a £1.7 million bond to CAA to refund its customers.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.