Airline collapse leaves Jarrow woman stranded on holiday

Nikki Mart, 27, landed in the paradise island on Monday to start the couple’s “dream holiday”

But within hours they discovered the airline they had booked with - Danish carrier Primera Air - had gone bust - leaving holidaymakers stranded and complaining of lack of communication.

The couple are due to fly home to Stanstead from Toronto on October 14.

Nikki said: “I checked my emails - no communication or advice at all, which is irritating. I checked their Twitter and that’s when I saw their pathetic sign-off about going bust.

“I’m trying not to let it ruin our trip, especially as it’s happened so early on. The lack of communication, advice or empathy from Primera Air makes it so much more stressful.”

The couple are just one of a number of holidaymakers who have been left stranded overseas after the budget airline collapsed.

It said “several unforeseen misfortunate events severely affected” its financial standing.

Travel firms who sold Atol-protected package holidays are responsible for providing alternative flights to bring people home or full refunds for those with future bookings.

But the only protection for anyone who made flight-only purchases is through credit or debit card providers or travel insurance policies.

The collapse of the airline comes almost a year after travel firm Monarch went to the wall, leading to the redundancies of nearly 2,000 employees.

More than 110,000 Monarch passengers were left overseas and the CAA helped repatriate stranded holidaymakers in what Transport Secretary Chris Grayling called an “unprecedented response to an unprecedented situation”.

No such assistance is being offered for Primera Air passengers as the Government is confident the affected routes are served by a sufficient number of alternative airlines with spare capacity.

Aviation analyst John Strickland said the airline struggled due to intense competition in London and rising fuel prices.

He told the Press Association: “It’s very hard to get known in a market where there’s a lot of competitive choice and a lot of good prices available already.

“The odds really were stacked against them. I think people in the industry have been speculating for quite a while about how long this was sustainable.”