.................137,000 travellers are left in the lurch after

LowCostHolidays, run by business tycoon Paul Evans, ceases trading
Spain-based firm currently has 27,000 customers overseas on holidays
110,000 booked trips and were hoping to go abroad in coming weeks


More than 137,000 travellers had their summer holidays thrown into chaos after one of Britain’s biggest online booking firms collapsed. LowCostHolidays, run by business tycoon Paul Evans, ceased trading last night. It currently has 27,000 customers overseas on holidays, and a further 110,000 who have booked trips and were hoping to go abroad in the next few weeks.

Many now face uncertainty over whether they will get some or any of their money back. And it also emerged many already abroad could be forced to fork out extra for hotels, airport transfers and car parking as these bills may not have been paid by the operator. It is thought all flights home are covered, but those who have yet to make a trip risk losing their summer holiday altogether. The collapse of LowCostHolidays is particularly controversial because while it sells trips to British customers, its offices are in Spain. When it moved from the UK in 2013 it stopped being covered by an industry safety-net run by travel body ATOL, which protects travellers if the firm they booked with has gone bust.British airlines regulator the Civil Aviation Authority had tried to block LowCostHolidays from leaving the ATOL scheme – but failed. A sales adviser from LowCostHolidays told the Mail that the firm’s 80-strong sales team, which remained in the UK, had still been selling holidays to customers just hours before the firm went into administration.....Read more here Source HERE