A travel firm has cancelled all bookings until July 26. Youtravel said it had decided to extend cancellations beyond July 5 to July 26, describing the situation as ‘difficult’.
It comes as discussions to secure its future are ongoing. Youtravel is a subsidiary of the German company FTI Group, whose tour operator brand FTI Touristik declared insolvency earlier this month.
The latest announcement means that thousands of UK holidaymakers could see their travel plans disrupted. The firm confirmed all active bookings for arrivals up to and including July 26 would be cancelled without charge by Monday, July 1.
READ MORE: Tenerife mayor says missing Jay Slater ‘is not here’ after potential sighting
Don’t miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here.
It means that UK travel agents have just days to make alternative arrangements for travellers who booked accommodation via Youtravel. Any issues will be communicated to customers by their booking agents in the coming days.
FTI Touristik, one of Europe’s largest travel firms, filed for insolvency at the beginning of the month. Youtravel acknowledged that the impact on its business and operations had been “significant”, reports the Express.
In a statement, Youtravel said it was grateful to partners for their support and patience since the initial announcement on June 3. It said: “The insolvency of FTI Touristik GmbH has had a significant impact on Youtravel.com.
“Over the past three weeks, our management has been actively engaging with the appointed administrator of the FTI group and undergoing the MandA [mergers and acquisition] process to secure our future.
“Whilst we are hopeful for a positive conclusion to these talks soon, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all bookings until and including the July 26, 2024. We understand the inconvenience this may cause and sincerely apologise for any disruption.
“Any active bookings in the Youtravel system for arrivals up to and including July 26 will be automatically cancelled without any charges by Monday, July 1.”
Bookings from July 27 remain active and will be subject to the usual cancellation charges. It added: “Our teams are fully operational, and our dedicated task force is here to provide support to our partners during this challenging period.
“Our teams are fully operational, and our dedicated taskforce is here to provide support to our partners during this challenging period. Alternatively, you can contact your account manager for any queries or concerns. We will continue to keep you updated as soon as we have any further news regarding the future of Youtravel.com.
“We want to express our gratitude to all our partners for their unwavering support and patience since the [FTI] announcement on June 3.”