Passengers stranded by airline collapse

Air passengers due to return to the UK were left stranded around Europe today after the collapse of a carrier which had operated for just seven months.

Duo, which was based in Birmingham and Edinburgh, cancelled all flights past midnight after it went into administration.

The move left passengers due to return to England and Scotland having to find other means of leaving Shannon airport, Nice in France, Munich in Germany, Geneva in Switzerland and Olbia in Sardinia.

Auditors Deloitte said it was “uncertain” whether any cash would be available to refund tickets.

Customers would have to wait around two months to find out if they would be reimbursed while administrators reported to creditors.

A Deloitte spokeswoman said it was trying to establish how many passengers due to fly into the UK had been affected by the collapse of the airline, which employed 300 people, mainly at Birmingham.

Around 150 people scheduled to depart Birmingham today on eight flights had lost their seats, while around 60 due to climb aboard three services from Edinburgh were also having to look to other carriers.

A total of 250 passengers will have to find alternative airlines for duo flights they would have taken tomorrow from the two airports.

Duo was launched in June 2003 and began operating in October following a management buy-out of the British Airways franchise Maersk.

It was aimed at bridging the gap between the no-frills airlines and more established carriers, offering budget fares with club class service for predominantly business customers.

In a statement posted on Deloitte’s website, the firm said revenues had not been as high as anticipated.

Although bookings had been growing, additional funds were needed and despite finding an investor last month, trading remained “poor.”

Bill Dawson, a partner at Deloitte, said: “There was a real prospect that duo could find these funds to support its growing booking levels but, although the board worked hard to achieve this, unfortunately the additional investments did not come through in time.

“We will be working hard with the management and authorities to help to communicate the situation to customers and employees.”

The airline operated a fleet of seven aircraft, flying to more than a dozen European destinations as well as between Birmingham and Edinburgh.

Destinations included the Austrian, Danish, Finnish, German and Norwegian capitals Vienna, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Berlin and Oslo as well as Olbia in Sardinia, Shannon in Ireland and the French and Swiss cities of Nice and Geneva.