Trustees of the Air Travel Trust Fund are due to decide today whether to pay claims from customers of Goldtrail Travel who booked with the failed company through retailers with no Atol.
Up to 10,000 claims are believed to be involved following Goldtrail’s demise in July, “a very unusual time for a high-season operator to fail”, according to industry accountant Chris Photi.
He told a Grant Thornton travel seminar last week: “There have to be question marks [over the failure].”
However, Photi and other senior industry sources dismissed a suggestion the firm was pushed under by a Civil Aviation Authority demand for an £8 million bond.
This stemmed from a creditors’ report by Goldtrail administrator Begbies Traynor which suggested the CAA advised “it would be seeking a bond of 10%-15% of the company’s turnover”.
It has emerged the CAA discovered Goldtrail was trading above its licence and advised that it would require a bond from October if this continued.
Goldtrail had the option of bringing its business for the coming year back in line with its Atol.
The CAA declined to comment, but a source close to the regulator confirmed: “The CAA discovered Goldtrail was overtrading after a tip-off from within the company.
“It talked with Goldtrail about the financial adjustments required in the medium term.”
The source suggested: “Those supplying Goldtrail with additional flying capacity must have realised it had expanded its business, but people kept quiet.”
The list of creditors identifies Turkish carriers Turkuaz Airlines and Onur Air as together owed £1.53 million.
Viking Airlines, which provided up to 50% of Goldtrail’s flying, appears to have been paid.