Russian package holiday company prosecuted

Alan Steel, a director of Russian Gateway (UK) Ltd, based in Willes Road, admitted four counts of breaching Air Travellers’ Organising Licensing (ATOL) regulations when he appeared before Leamington magistrates.

He was ordered to pay compensation totalling £12,944 to three former customers, fined £2,000 and told to pay £639 in legal costs.

The CAA decided to prosecute following several customer complaints concerning bookings that had been accepted by Russian Gateway for flight packages which the company had not met and for which they then did not offer refunds.

Mark Hydes, team manager for ATOL Enforcement for the Civil Aviation Authority, said: “The experiences of customers who made complaints clearly illustrate the risks of booking air holdidays with businesses that do not hold ATOLs.”

The CAA investigation and subsequent successful prosecution was carried out under existing ATOL regulations although a new set of rules are due to come into effect at the end of this month.

These aim to provide customers with even more clarity about their protection and ensure they are covered.

The reforms include extending protection to Flight-Plus holidays where a flight, plus either accommodation and/or car hire is booked within two days.

Enforcement manager Diane Park said: “The CAA will continue to investigate businesses which it believes may be breaching the ATOL regulations and will always bring prosecutions where it is in the public interest to do so.”