Kiss Flights becomes the third travel company to go bust this summer

Already this summer, the travel industry has had to deal with the collapse of two holiday providers, Goldtrail and Sun4U. Now a third travel company, Kiss Flights, has ceased trading. Around 70,000 holidaymakers that have booked with Kiss Flights now face uncertainty. Kiss Flights specialised in budget holidays to Greece, Egypt, Turkey and the Canary Isles.

Kiss Flights was owned by Flight Options, who announced on their website that Kiss Flights ceased trading at 17:00 on Tuesday.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is assuring holidaymakers that are currently abroad that they will be able to fly home as normal over the next week because their flights are ATOL protected.

Anyone that is booked on a flight that is due to leave before 18:00 today can still travel from any UK airport and then return home at the end of their holiday on their scheduled flight without disruption to their holiday. Anyone wishing to travel after 18:00 today should contact their travel agent to find out if they can arrange an alternative flight. The CAA has also confirmed that travellers booked onto future holidays with Kiss Flights should get full refunds.

Kiss Flights didn't have enough bookings for September and October to continue trading. Simon Calder, a travel journalist, is surprised that three travel companies have collapsed during the peak summer season. Travel companies that are set to go bust would normally wait until September to ensure fewer holidaymakers are affected.

When the volcanic ash cloud hit British skies in April earlier this year, many holidaymakers were put off booking holidays abroad and travel companies suffered. In the last few months the travel industry seemed to gain momentum, but fears that he coalition government will announce austerity measures in the near future has put people off spending their money on holidays abroad.

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