Irish seek emergency accommodation after XL collapse

Hundreds of Irish holidaymakers were today left stranded overseas after the collapse of one of Britain's largest tour operators.

Many were left scrambling to find emergency accommodation in Greece and Spain when they realised their XL Holidays flights had been grounded.

The tour operator was part of the XL Leisure Group which went into administration in the early hours of this morning, crushed by rising fuel costs and the credit crunch.

Around 67,000 people, mostly from the UK, who travelled with the firm are still abroad and facing uncertainty about their return.

Up to 1,500 tourists, who booked trips with the doomed company's Irish arm, are among those overseas while another 3,000 had booked their holiday with the operator but were yet to travel.

The Commission for Aviation Regulation said it had secured an alternative flight on Sunday for 131 stranded passengers at Reus in Spain who were expecting to return today.

Another 174 travellers in the Greek island of Skiathos are waiting to hear if the regulator can arrange a plane to take them home.

Uncertainty hangs over arrangements for hundreds more in destinations including Faro in Portugal, Bourgas in Bulgaria, Palma in Majorca and Arrecife in Lanzarote.

The Irish subsidiary of the British tour operator was licensed by the aviation regulator in Dublin and therefore covered by an insurance bond.

This will allow those affected to claim a refund for the cost of the holiday, or costs incurred through alternative travel arrangements and emergency accommodation.

But anyone who booked directly with the XL Leisure Group face losses, it was warned.

Bookmaker Paddy Power revealed he took so many bets on XL going bust yesterday afternoon that he closed the book.

Even when the odds were down to 4/6, punters were still putting on significant sums of money.

The bookies issued a list of airlines on Wednesday afternoon offering odds on which would be the next to go under, but XL was not even on the list.

It was put on at the request of a punter who asked for odds on the company and it swiftly became the hot favourite to close down.

"We started to see significant gambling yesterday afternoon and by close of play they were at 4/6," said a spokeswoman.

"It didn't seem to matter what price we offered, the bets kept coming. It made us sit up and take notice and eventually we had to shut up shop on the market."

The maximum bet the company allowed was £500 (€631) when the odds were at 4/1.

"We had a lot of bets at the maximum and a lot of new accounts opened.

"Quite a few people will be walking away with £2,000 (€2,524) profit," she said.

The company refused to comment on whether it thought any of the gamblers had insight into the troubles at XL.

The high-profile collapse prompted a prediction by British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh that another 30 airlines would go out of business within the next four months.

Earlier this week, Dublin-based airline Futura Gael, which offered flights to holiday destinations throughout Europe, suspended flights blaming the soaring cost of fuel.

Mayo-based Ronane Travel, also known as Great Escapes, also ceased trading last month citing similar reasons.

XL was still taking bookings last night, but shortly before 3am it was announced that efforts to secure a rescue package had failed and administrators had been called in.

Chief executive Phil Wyatt said he was "devastated" at the company's collapse and apologised to his customers and employees.

Speaking at a press conference at the Hilton Hotel at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, he admitted the company had debts of £143m (€180.5m), but insisted it did not have to fail.

In an emotional statement, he said: "Up until 9pm last night there was dialogue with the CAA and individuals were coming forward with money potentially to put into the business."