Holidays 4 U enters administration

Brighton-based Holidays 4 U, which also traded as Aegean Flights, sold packages and flights to Turkey.

Administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would be responsible for getting home those already abroad as long as they had booked flights as part of a package holiday. These people are covered by the CAA's Air Travel Organisers' Licensing Scheme (Atol).

The administrators said that passengers booked with the company on future flights, including Wednesday night's flight from Manchester to Dalaman in Turkey at 9pm, should not travel to the airport and should refer to the CAA for more information.

The administrators added that the Atol scheme may also reimburse passengers who booked a package holiday and had not yet travelled. Passengers who booked through a travel agent were advised to contact that agent in the first instance.

The Atol website at www.caa.co.uk is being updated regularly to provide details of return flights for passengers currently on holiday.

Passengers who did not book through an agent but booked direct with the company are directed to the CAA website for more information on return flights if they are currently on holiday or for information regarding refunds.

The company has 18 employees and had an annual turnover of about £35 million.

Ian Oakley-Smith, joint administrator and director at PwC said: "The company has suffered because of the difficulties faced by the travel industry during 2010 and 2011, as a result of the economic downturn. The director has determined that the business is no longer able to trade and placed the company into administration.

"The company will cease operating with immediate effect. Regrettably most staff have been made redundant. We will be working closely with employees affected by this decision to ensure they receive the support they need during this difficult time to assist with their claims for redundancy and other compensatory payments."