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STA Travel goes bust after coronavirus cancellations

Margate beach
Margate beach

Popular backpacking and youth travel agency STA Travel has gone bust, the latest business to collapse after the coronavirus turned the industry on its head.

STA, which employed 500 staff across 50 branches in the UK, ceased trading on Friday, ABTA, the trade association of travel and tour operators confirmed.

The agency, founded in Australia, was criticised for its handling of flight cancellations and travel restrictions early on in the pandemic, with many of young British customers complaining that they had been left in the lurch while travelling.

Several students alleged STA left them to arrange their own travel home or offer exorbitant fares when the Foreign Commonwealth Office announced that all travellers should return to Britain in March. They were also accused of not refunding bookings.

ABTA said that the majority of booked holidays were packages that were protected by the Civil Aviation Authority’s ATOL scheme, meaning customers should be able to get a refund.

STA posted a statement on its Twitter feed advising customers that they will no longer be able to assist with queries and to wait for an email in the “coming days”.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience and the limited information that is available to you at this time”.