Zoom travellers seeking way home

2:32am Friday 29th August 2008

Hundreds of travellers left stranded following the collapse of low-fare airline Zoom are facing up to the fact they will have to make their own way home.

The UK and Canada-based firm grounded all flights on Thursday night as it prepared to go into administration.

Zoom, which operated from five UK airports, blamed its financial difficulties on a massive jump in fuel bills as a result of the high cost of oil.

Passengers on both sides of the Atlantic face spending hundreds of pounds on alternative flights to return home.

Zoom's cash crisis became apparent on Wednesday follow the grounding of a Zoom flight from Paris at Calgary airport in Canada.

Glasgow airport was instructed on Thursday by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority to detain a Halifax-bound flight over the non-payment of charges.

Passengers also began queueing for a later flight to Vancouver which never left the ground. Travellers were told of the company's collapse as they continued to wait into the evening.

Zoom, founded by Scottish brothers John and Hugh Boyle, said it had attempted to secure a re-financing package that would have kept its aircraft flying.

But the owners issued an apology to both travellers and its more than 600 staff after failing to strike a deal.

The airline is based at Gatwick and employs about 450 staff in Canada and 260 in the UK.

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