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ABTA president quits as Travelscene folds
ABTA president John Harding has resigned after his company Travelscene went bust.
The long-established short breaks operator had its bond called yesterday by the Civil Aviation Authority after it ceased trading.
Mr Harding, who was sales director at the company, tendered his resignation from his post as ABTA president.
ABTA’s board of directors are to appoint an acting president to serve until the next AGM in April 2005.
Harrow-based Travelscene was licensed by the CAA to sell almost 15,000 holidays. It also sold Eurostar and ferry packages which were bonded by ABTA.
The CAA said people with advance bookings for air holidays with Travelscene will not be able to travel but will get refunds from the company’s ATOL bond.
The CAA said it would pay hotels to ensure people can complete their holidays. It is not know who many people are abroad on Travelscene holidays but numbers are thought to be small.
The CAA added that all future departures for holidays booked through Travelscene have been cancelled and advised cutomers not to go to their departure airport. People who have made advance payments for their holidays will be able to claim refunds from the CAA. Claim forms can be downloaded from the website www.atol.org.uk
A well known figure in the trade, Mr Harding was elected president of ABTA in May 2003 and has been long involved in association politics. He was with Travelscene for more than 20 years.
The 18 members of ABTA’s board of directors will meet on September 22 to vote in an acting president, whose tasks will include leading the association at its annual convention in Orlando in November. In the meantime ABTA will operate without a president.
Report by Phil Davies
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