FTI Touristik GmbH, parent of Europe’s third largest tour operator FTI Group, has filed for bankruptcy on June 3 at the District Court of Munich.
The tour operator brand FTI Touristik was affected immediately with other group companies to follow.
Services booked with FTI Touristik’s brands in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, and car hire brands were affected, while services booked with third-party providers were not impacted.
Some customers of Loveholidays have been affected as FTI Group is the parent company of two of their accommodation and transfer partners youtravel.com and Meeting Point.
Around 30 resorts in the Canary Islands are affected by the collapse of FTI Group, including 14 in Fuerteventura, 11 in Gran Canaria, three in Tenerife, and four in Lanzarote.
The Secretary of State for Tourism in the Canary Islands, Rosaio Sanchez, is investigating the extent of job losses and the number of tourists affected by the collapse.
Around 65,000 holidaymakers currently traveling with FTI are affected, with the German federal government rejecting further state aid for the company. In Cyprus, up to 30,000 hotel bookings could be affected by FTI Group’s collapse, according to Filokipros Rousounides, the general manager of the hoteliers association.
Holidays in Turkey, Greece, Malta, and Egypt are also said to be impacted by the collapse of FTI Group.
Following FTI’s bankruptcy, the travel industry expects a reorganisation, with competitors like Tui and DER Touristik benefitting from the situation.
Tui plans to expand its offerings and take over capacities from FTI, with an increase in hotel beds and flight seats.
Tui and DER Touristik benefitted from the pandemic, with a significant increase in bookings and growth in sales and profits reported.
Charter arilines impacted include Condor, SunExpress, Corendon Airlines, SmartLynx Airlines, and Marabu as the European summer season approaches.
FTI Touristik is prioritising support for affected travellers, with efforts to ensure ongoing trips proceed as planned under the German Travel Security Fund. The company had faced financial difficulties before Covid-19 and could not secure a takeover deal in time to avoid bankruptcy.
Information here: https://www.fti-group.com/en/insolvency
