Tourism Breaking News
After intensive examination and in close coordination with the provisional insolvency administrator Axel Bierbach and the German Travel Security Fund (DRSF), FTI Touristik GmbH has decided to cancel all trips with departure dates up to and including Friday, 5 July 2024. The company has immediately started to inform the affected customers and service partners about the cancellations.
“Since the beginning of the week, together with FTI and the DRSF, we have been examining all options for the further realisation of already booked trips in the interest of our customers. A solution seems possible, but not in the next few days. In the interests of customers departing at short notice, we therefore believe that the best solution is to cancel all trips starting in the next four weeks. This will give customers the planning security and flexibility they urgently need for their upcoming holidays”, said the provisional insolvency administrator Bierbach on Friday in Munich. According to him, operating the trips during this period would have been associated with too many uncertainty factors and risks for holidaymakers in the destination countries.
The decision affects all package holidays, individual bookings and individual services that customers have booked for this period via FTI Touristik GmbH, the sales brand 5vorFlug and BigXtra Touristik GmbH. Thursday, 6 June 2024, the subsidiary BigXtra Touristik GmbH, which belongs to the FTI GROUP, also filed for insolvency at the Munich Local Court. Axel Bierbach from the law firm Müller-
Heydenreich Bierbach & Kollegen (Munich) was also appointed provisional insolvency administrator for this company.
FTI and the provisional insolvency administrator, together with the DRSF, are continuing to work hard to find a solution that best serves the interests of customers and service partners for trips booked via FTI and BigXtra with departure from Saturday, 6 July 2024. “Intensive negotiations are underway with competitors in which we are exploring whether a takeover of package holidays is possible and practically feasible”, said Bierbach.
“Our aim is to enable customers to travel to the planned destination during the planned holiday period at the agreed travel price, taking into account the deposit already paid. Especially for customers with high down payments or a small budget, this would be an opportunity to travel without having to wait for the DRSF to reimburse the travel costs already paid to FTI. At the same time, we are all aware that we only have a short time to find such a solution, as the uncertainty – especially in view of the upcoming summer holidays – is a great burden for all holidaymakers affected”, he added. A decision on whether all remaining bookings will be cancelled or taken over by other providers should therefore be made very soon.
With regard to the holidaymakers who are currently still in the destination countries, Bierbach said: “We very much regret the inconvenience caused and are making every effort to minimise this for all those affected.”
