It was September last year when the country's third biggest package holiday group XL Leisure collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers were stranded overseas, while many others were left without the holiday they'd been looking forward to.
Fortunately, the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Atol) scheme, overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), stepped in to compensate those people whose flights were part of their package holiday.
However, almost a year on, your window to claim is fast closing. The CAA reports that £37.5million has already been paid out but warns that some customers have failed to submit their applications.
Claim now
Duncan Barraclough, a spokesman for travelsupermarket.com, urged anyone who could be eligible to make their claim before it's too late.
"Of the 65,102 applications already received, the CAA has settled 55,324 claims. This is great progress on the part of the CAA, but with 15% of claims still unsettled and more likely to flood in ahead of Friday, it will be some time before the situation is fully resolved."
Summer 2009 has also been stormy for the beleaguered travel industry. Duncan added: ""The travel and leisure industry is still feeling the pressure of the economic downturn.
"With companies such as SkyEurope filing for bankruptcy, it's more important than ever that customers take out adequate travel insurance, that their holidays are ATOL protected and that they pay with a credit card. Should anything go wrong, these precautionary measures will go some way to securing compensation."
Protect yourself
Events like the collapse of XL or the recent SkyEurope bankruptcy have left many holidaymakers question exactly what protection they have if something like this affects their own trip.
Read our article 'Protecting your holiday from a cancellation catastrophe' for more details of your rights and how best to ensure your trip is covered.
If you're caught up in the most recent airline bankruptcy, take a look at our article 'SkyEurope collapse - your questions answered' for more information on what to expect and where to claim.
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