Passengers hit as Spanish carrier suspends flights
Spanish leisure airline LTE International Airways S.A. has suspended flights, leaving passengers on services from Norwich stranded.
The airline said in a statement on its website that “it just was not possible to avoid this situation given world events latelyâ€.
LTE started weekly services in July linking Norwich with Alicante, Barcelona and Palma.
The airline ran a fleet of seven 180-passenger Airbus A320s with bases in Palma, the Canary Islands and Milan.
LTE also flew for a range of tour operators in the UK and Europe, including Cosmos which arranged an alternative flight to bring around 300 holidaymakers back from Tenerife.
More than 100 Norwich passengers who were due to return on Saturday from Barcelona, Alicante and Palma were told they must make alternative arrangements to fly home.
If they had booked an ATOL-protected package with tour operator Sunways Holidays, then the tour operator is responsible for repatriation, or refunds for customers yet to travel, a statement from the airport said.
The airport advised customers with forward bookings to contact the travel agency with which they booked, or the airline directly.
Norwich Airport managing director Richard Jenner said: “We are deeply disappointed at this news, which has come completely out of the blue.
“Bookings on LTE flights from Norwich had been doing well and we had high hopes for the success of their services.
“This situation is more a reflection of the current economic situation and wider problems faced by some airlines, rather than LTE’s performance at Norwich.
“At the moment, LTE tells us that this suspension is only temporary, and some parts of the airline are still operating. LTE is not in liquidation or bankruptcy.
“It is too early to say if these flights will be reinstated.â€
LTE indicated that it hopes to refund people affected by the weekend’s suspension.
Announcing that services had been suspended, a statement said that “due to the financial situation of the company that made it difficult to meet the operational expenses in the next days, we have had to suspend our charter and scheduled operations.
“LTE is doing everything to minimise the impact of this suspension of services on its clients and providers.â€
LTE managing director Michael Harrington said the airline had to suspend operations “due to an unexpected financial reverseâ€.
He said: “Our shareholders are trying to find a solution and we hope to give you more news in the next days.
“After 20 years of service you can imagine that is a very sorry blow for LTE and its staff.â€
The suspension of Majorca-based LTE flights follows the collapse of at least 25 airlines in the past 12 months, including XL Airways, Futura, Zoom, Silverjet, Oasis Hong Kong, Eos and MAXjet.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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