Ireland’s largest tour operator Budget Travel ceased trading from 25th November with the loss of 172 jobs and the closure of the company’s 17 retail shops.
The firm applied to the High Court to have the company placed into provisional liquidation and for the appointment of Simon Coyle of Mazars as provisional liquidator this afternoon.
Senior executives of the company and the liquidator will meet with the Commission for Aviation Regulation this evening with a view to making arrangements to cater for holidaymakers who are currently abroad and for holidaymakers who had been scheduled to depart in the coming days and weeks.
The company says that it has already drawn up contingency plans and will work constructively with the Commission to minimise the disruption caused to holidaymakers.
The company currently has a bond of €11.4m in cash lodged with the Commission which will be used to assist holidaymakers abroad and refund any deposits or bookings made with the company which can not now be honoured.
The management of that process and the payment of refunds etc is at the discretion and control of the Commission which will have the total assistance of the liquidator in the processing of claims.
A helpline (01-6613122) has been established at Budget Travel to deal with queries from customers .
Budget Travel managing director Eileen O’Sullivan today expressed her deep regret and sadness at the decision to place the company into provisional liquidation.
"This has been a painful and distressing time for us all and we deeply regret that this situation has arisen," she said.
"We particularly regret the impact of the decision on our loyal customers and on our colleagues across the company many of whom have worked with us for decades. We will do everything we can to minimise the impact of this decision especially on those who are currently travelling with us."
Ms. O’Sullivan said that the dispute with the Commission for Aviation Regulation regarding the granting of licences for the coming year had brought financial challenges to a head.
"The travel industry in Ireland is facing massive pressure from a sharp and sudden collapse in demand this year," said O’Sullivan.
"We understand that the Commission has a job to do but we sincerely believe that had our licences been renewed as expected we would have been able to apply to the courts for protection under the Examinership procedures during which we could have restructured our business to take account of the market collapse.
"Not only that but we would have benefitted from the fact that the bond necessary to secure the licences going forward would have been approximately 40% smaller than the €11.4m bond currently with the Commission.
"The difference refunded to the company would have helped it to tackle its financial challenges."
Budget Travel began a restructuring process in August of this year when it announced the closure of 14 of its retail outlets and the loss of approximately 95 jobs.
While that addressed some of the financial challenges the company was facing, it has not been sufficient to prevent the financial challenge escalating, the company has stated.