What to do if your holiday is cancelled - advice if holiday firm cancels your trip as UK companies Balkan Holidays and Jetline Travel close

Jetline Travel, a leading UK cruise and budget holiday provider, also recently reportedly that it entered administration after 25 years in business. The London-based company, which was established in 2000, along with its parent company Jetline Cruise, ceased trading as an ATOL holder in March. Now, according to TTG, Jetline Travel has gone into administration.

Princess, Cunard, and Holland America cruises booked through Jetline Travel have been cancelled due to a breach of contract. The CAA informed customers earlier in March: "If you are currently overseas and you hold a scheduled flight e-ticket, the flight remains valid for the return journey." Further CAA guidance suggested: "You are advised to check-in with the airline as per the existing flight ticket. We are currently collating information from the company, and we will update this page shortly with instructions for Jetline Travel Ltd ATOL protected bookings on how to make a claim."

Yet, not all bookings may be covered, as the CAA alerted that purchases made solely for accommodation, non-flight packages and cruise-only agreements without flights were outside the ATOL scheme's protection. For further steps, affected individuals were advised: "Check your ATOL Certificate under the 'Who is protecting your trip?' section, this will show who the responsible ATOL holder is. If the protector of your trip is still trading, you should contact that ATOL holder for further assistance."

Meanwhile Balkan Holidays, which offered holidaymakers trips to Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Malta and Northern Cyprus, has just announced it will cease trading. Though travellers currently on their holidays will be able to complete them, anyone with upcoming bookings will instead be made to accept refunds.

The firm said it would aim to process refunds as fast as possible, working in order of departure date. It said: “For all direct clients, if you need to contact us about refunds, please email [email protected]. If you booked through a travel agent, please contact them for your refund. All travel agents can email [email protected]. We will work as fast as we can and will prioritise refunds in departure date order.”

What to do if company cancels your holiday

If your travel agent goes bust, contact your tour operator, your accommodation provider and/or your flight provider/airline. If you booked through a travel agent and your tour operator goes out of business, contact your agent for assistance.

Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Atol) protection applies to some air trips abroad that are booked with UK travel companies. If you are covered by Atol, your travel company should have given you an Atol certificate when you booked.

The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 require organisers of package holidays to provide protection for your money and to bring you home if necessary. If the company you booked with is a member of the Atol scheme, your money will be protected. Any package holiday sold in the UK must be Atol protected if it includes a flight.

You may be able to make a claim under the scheme if:

• You have booked a trip that you are due to take in the future, but the Atol holder has since stopped trading
• The Atol holder has stopped trading while you are abroad, resulting in your trip being disrupted or your flight back to the UK being cancelled

If you were given an Atol Certificate when you booked, read it carefully – it explains who is protecting your trip and what to do.

It would also be a good idea to contact your travel insurance company. Not all travel insurance policies will cover you in the event that a travel company goes bust. Make sure you double check the small print to ensure the policy includes end-supplier failure.