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Goldtrail was a UK-based tour operator that specialised in operated flights and holidays to Turkey and Greece. It was run by Abdulkadir Aydin, the sole director, based in Surrey, England.
A number of former customers had received sub-standard accommodation and treatment on holiday in Turkey. Other holidaymakers, it discovered, had become ill after taking Goldtrail holidays. The company was also fined thousands of pounds by the Association of British Travel Agents, ABTA, the programme reported. The directors were convicted of fraud in absentia, as they had already fled to Northern Cyprus.
The CAA advised customers due to fly with the failed operator to check with their travel agent before travelling to the airport. In a statement issued on its website, the aviation regulator said: "The CAA has taken steps to protect customers booked with Goldtrail Travel Limited after the company ceased trading.
In 2009, the company featured in the BBC Watchdog consumer affairs programme.
It collapsed in 2010 and went into administration. [1] This left 23,500 tourist stranded without a way home and a further 110,000 would-be passengers holding prepaid tickets. The collapse of GoldTrail cost the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) over £20 million. [2]
On 13 May 2013, Adbulkadir Aydin was disqualified for 15 years from being a director of any UK company, being found guilty of 'gross mismanagement' of the company's affairs. [3] The high court heard Aydin transferred over £10 million to himself and family members prior to the collapse of GoldTrail.
The company also traded under the names of Goldtrail Holidays, Goldtrail Travel and Sunmar.
Goldtrail used many charter airlines for their operations. These included: [4]
First Choice Airways Limited was a British charter airline of European tour operator TUI Travel PLC, based in Crawley, England until its merger with Thomsonfly to form Thomson Airways in 2008. It flew to more than 60 destinations worldwide from 14 UK and Irish airports. 70% of the airline's services were operated for its parent company, rising to 85% in the summer season, with the remainder on behalf of some 120 other tour operators. It also operated scheduled year-round leisure routes to Cyprus and the resorts of Spain and Portugal.
EasyJet plc is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airlines EasyJet UK, EasyJet Switzerland, and EasyJet Europe. EasyJet plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. EasyGroup Holdings Ltd, the investment vehicle of the airline's founder, Greek-Cypriot businessman Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is the largest shareholder with a 15.27% stake. It employs circa 13,000 people, based throughout Europe but mainly in the UK.
Monarch Airlines, simply known as Monarch, was a British charter and scheduled airline founded by Bill Hodgson and Don Peacock and financed by the Swiss Sergio Mantegazza family. The company later became a low-cost airline in 2004 before abandoning charter flying completely. The airline's headquarters were based at London–Luton, and it had operating bases at Birmingham, Leeds/Bradford, London–Gatwick and Manchester.
Court Line was a 20th-century British tramp shipping company that was founded in 1905. In the 1960s it diversified into shipbuilding and charter aviation. Its merchant shipping interests were based in London. Its shipyards were at Appledore in Devon and Sunderland in Tyne and Wear. Its airline was based at Luton Airport in Bedfordshire. It also provided bus services in Luton and surrounding areas.
Ryanair Holdings Plc is an Irish low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland. The company includes the subsidiaries Ryanair DACTooltip Designated activity company, Malta Air, Buzz, Lauda Europe and Ryanair UK. Ryanair DAC, the oldest airline of the group, was founded in 1984. Ryanair Holdings was established in 1996 as a holding company for Ryanair with the two companies having the same board of directors and executive officers. In 2019 the transition began from the airline Ryanair and its subsidiaries into separate sister airlines under the holding company. Later in 2019 Malta Air joined Ryanair Holdings.
Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost leisure airline offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behind easyJet and British Airways. Jet2 is also officially the largest tour operator in the UK after overtaking TUI in 2023. Its headquarters are located at Leeds Bradford Airport. Further bases are at Belfast–International, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London–Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle airports, with a base opening at Liverpool In March 2024. The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. Jet2 also offers a charter service through its Jet2charters brand.
XL Airways was a British low-cost charter and scheduled airline, which ceased operations when it went into administration on 12 September 2008. Its headquarters were in Crawley, West Sussex, near London Gatwick Airport. It was part of the XL Leisure Group. From its three bases at London Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow, the airline provided short-haul and long-haul charter services, predominantly to leisure destinations.
A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via automobile, buses, charter airline, and may also include travel between areas as part of the holiday. Package holidays are a form of product bundling.
Viking Airlines AB was a privately owned charter airline with a head office in Stockholm, Sweden and based in Stockholm. Viking Airlines primarily operated charter flights for European tour operators. The airline was established in 2003. Viking Airlines had its head office in Spånga, Stockholm, Sweden.
Flyglobespan was a low-cost airline based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It operated scheduled services from five airports across Scotland, England and Ireland to destinations in Europe, North America, North Africa and South Africa. Its main bases were Glasgow Airport, Edinburgh Airport and Aberdeen Airport. The airline's slogan was "Award-winning airline". It went into administration due to financial problems and the airline declared bankruptcy on 16 December 2009.
ABTA Ltd, operating as ABTA – The Travel Association and formerly known as the Association of British Travel Agents, is a trade association for tour operators and travel agents in the United Kingdom.
Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) is a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) scheme to give financial protection to people who have purchased package holidays and flights from a member tour operator.
The XL Leisure Group (XLLG) was a major tour operating company in the UK, consisting of charter and scheduled airlines, holiday companies and flight-only tour operators. It also had operations in France, Germany, Ireland, Australia and Cyprus. The group's UK companies were placed into administration on 12 September 2008.
Thomas Cook Group plc was a global travel group, headquartered in the United Kingdom and listed on the London Stock Exchange from its formation on 19 June 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG — successor to Thomas Cook & Son — and MyTravel Group until 23 September 2019, when it went into compulsory liquidation. The group operated as a tour operator and airline, and also operated travel agencies in Europe. At the time of the group's collapse, approximately 21,000 worldwide employees were left without jobs and 600,000 customers were left abroad, triggering the UK's largest peacetime repatriation.
Mark Warner is an independent British tour operator founded in 1974 by entrepreneurs Mark Chitty and Andrew Searle. Based in London, it originally specialised in singles' and couples' ski holidays in just one chalet in Switzerland but has since expanded into family and beach resort holidays.
Kiss Flights was a charter, seat only tour operator which ceased trading on 17 August 2010. Kiss Flights was a trading name for Flight Options Ltd, based in London. The company sold flights to Spain, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Portugal and Turkey.
Clarksons Travel Group was a pioneering package tour operator in the UK during the 1960s and early 1970s. Its founder, in 1959 as Clarksons Tours, a subsidiary of the long-established City firm of H. Clarkson shipbrokers, was Tom Gullick, a former flag lieutenant in the Royal Navy.
Lowcostholidays was a travel company and a consumer-facing brand of the lowcosttravelgroup, which was founded in 2004. It operated to destinations worldwide, with a focus on European city and beach breaks. Around 500 people worked for the brand, which was based in Palma de Mallorca, with additional offices located in London, and Krakow. The company collapsed and went into administration on 15 July 2016. The collapse of the company was blamed on low turnover in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.
Peter Fankhauser is a Swiss businessman, who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Thomas Cook Group from 2014 until its collapse in 2019.
Jet2holidays is a British package holiday provider and tour operator. It was formed in 2007 as a subsidiary of Dart Group PLC, and a sister to Jet2.com, the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK. As of 2023 Jet2holidays is the largest tour operator in the United Kingdom, by ATOL licenses in 2023.
