Thousands of British holidaymakers face uncertainty this summer after a travel firm collapsed into administration.
Great Little Escapes specialise in "adventure holidays to relaxing spa holidays, beach holidays to city breaks, adults-only to fun-filled family resorts".
But operations by the Berkshire-based company are no longer protected by an Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL).
The scheme ensures consumers are repatriated or refunded money paid to the travel organiser for holidays and flights.
A notice from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed that Great Little Escapes ceased trading as an ATOL holder on June 13.
According to the Companies House website, Great Little Escapes LLP has been operational since September 2002.
It previously traded under the names including Your Holidays and Tunisia First, as well as websites such as yourholidays.co.uk and thecaribbean.com.
The company is not in any way connected to award-winning provider Great Little Breaks.
A CAA spokesman said: “We are currently collating information from the company and will update this page as soon as possible.”
Customers are advised not to submit a claim against Great Little Escapes before the CAA has finished gathering information.
Travel agents who are holding customer payments have also been given instructions by the CAA.
The news comes just months after a separate British travel firm went bust.
Jetline Travel, a London-based organisation established in 2000 and parent company of Jetline Cruise, ceased trading as an ATOL holder in March. It was reported that 5,000 customers were affected by the closure.
The Standard has approached Great Little Escapes for comment.
What is ATOL?
The Air Travel Organiser's Licence (ATOL) provides support for consumers who have booked a package trip – such as flights and accommodation – when a tour operator goes out of business.
It arranges people already overseas to be flown home and reimburses financial losses suffered by those with future trips.
ATOL was first called on to help consumers in 1974 when Court Line, the UK’s second largest tour operator at the time, collapsed, leaving around 35,000 travellers abroad.
It brought 140,000 people back to the UK after Thomas Cook went out of business in September 2019 - the UK’s largest peacetime repatriation.
Other major operations include when airline Monarch went bust in October 2017 and when tour operator XL Leisure Group collapsed in September 2008.
