Plea for those hit by travel firms' collapse

TRANSPORT minister Theresa Villiers has urged reform of the system of compensating travellers hit by the collapse of holiday firms.

After last week's demise of travel company Goldtrail, Ms Villiers told the Commons the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was working hard to repatriate those people affected.

But she added: "In the longer term, we need a bigger reform of the way the system works."

Goldtrail went into administration last Friday, affecting the holiday plans of up to 50,000 people. At Commons question time, Glasgow North West Labour MP John Robertson said more than 100 passengers had been stuck at Glasgow airport due to the collapse, with a further 16,000 "stranded abroad|.

He asked what ministers were doing to help people get compensation, saying some had been warned they would have to wait at least two years.

Ms Villiers told him: "The CAA is working hard to repatriate the people affected by the Goldtrail failure, which has cause significant anxiety and disruption to people's holiday plans.

"Our officials are working hard with the CAA to ensure that repatriation effort goes well. We are also urging the CAA to ensure lessons are learned from XL, where it did take a long time to process claims."