Investigation into Flyglobespan collapse
The Scottish government has today announced an investigation into the collapse of Scotland's largest airline company, Flyglobespan. The company collapsed last week after last-minute rescue talks failed and the group had no alternative but to call in the administrators. Over 500 staff lost their jobs at the company and thousands of holidaymakers were left stranded overseas, many of them unprotected and having to find their own way home.
The investigation is set to centre on the role of a company called E-Clear which handles the company's credit card operations and is alleged to owe Flyglobespan around £35 million. It is unclear exactly how this particular figure was arrived at, but there have been concerns about levels of protection for companies such as E-Clear, which play a significant role in the UK travel industry.
One of the other major concerns is the fact that so many people have been left unprotected by the ATOL protection system, with thousands having to find their own way home and many more having lost their money on future travel arrangements. There is every chance we will see significant changes in the way that the UK travel industry operates because while the ATOL system is very successful were activated by travel companies, the collapse of Flyglobespan has shown that many people still remain outside the ATOL ring of protection.
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