British passenger coach vehicle driving at speed on motorway
Coach travel has always been a popular custom in the UK (Picture: Getty)

With ‘normal’ still a long way off, coronavirus continues to impact businesses across the world – with the travel industry particularly affected.

British Airways announced last month that they were set to make 12,000 redundancies and more recently revealed that staff face a future 55% pay cut.

TUI is also set to cut 8000 jobs and calling the pandemic the ‘greatest crisis’ the industry has faced.

With global brands struggling, local UK travel groups are also facing massive difficulties, with holiday operator Shearings also in danger…

Has Shearings gone into administration?

The parent company of Shearings has collapsed into administration, with a reported 2460 immediate job losses confirmed as well as thousands of holiday cancellations.

Specialist Leisure Group (SLG), which also owns other holiday brands including UKBreakaways.com, Wallace Arnold Travel, and hotel chains Bay Hotels, Coast & Country and Country Living, announced that all tours, cruises, holidays and hotel breaks in the UK and abroad have been cancelled.

The company stopped taking bookings on Thursday 21 May.

EY, the accountancy firm, have been appointed the administrators for SLG.

Up Next

Shearings refunds – how to go about claiming for a cancelled holiday?

Through a statement published online, EY announced that all customers with cancelled bookings, which include organised travel, are expected to have financial protection.

If a package holiday included travel by coach or rail, or you booked a cruise, with overnight accommodation, it is likely covered by The Confederation of Passenger Transport, Bonded Coach Holidays Scheme or by a customer’s credit or debit card issuer.

If you booked a flight inclusive package, it’s likely covered by the ATOL scheme.

Customers with ATOL protected bookings, it is said, will be contacted by the UK Civil Aviation Authority ‘in due course’, either directly or via their booking or travel agent with steps on claiming for a refund.

MORE : Coronavirus UK: When will it be safe to travel again?

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