A huge travel company is going bust, leaving Brits facing the cancellation of their summer holidays. Find out if YOU might be affected…

British tourists could be hit with holiday cancellations in July following the collapse earlier this month of one of Europe’s biggest tour operators, FTI.

It is based in Germany, but Britons could be hit by the fallout from its failure – as it has a subsidiary called youtravel.com, a mid-tier accommodation provider, known as a ‘bed bank’, which agents UK online travel providers (OTAs), including Loveholidays, use them to secure customers’ hotel rooms.

These OTAs combine hotels booked through youtravel.com with flights, creating a package for their customers.

Youtravel.com initially reported that bookings through June 11 had been canceled, resulting in some British travelers having to pay twice for their rooms by hoteliers worried they would not receive bed bank funds.

Now, Youtravel.com has announced that all bookings up until July 26 will be cancelled, potentially causing even more disruption.

Among those affected by FTI’s collapse is Annie Cox, 24, who told Birmingham Live she was forced to pay £900 more to keep her room at the Labranda Targa Club Aqua Parc in Morocco, which she had booked through Loveholidays.

How likely is disruption for Brits in July?

Loveholidays told MailOnline Travel it was working hard to ensure its customers’ holidays went smoothly.

“Earlier this month, FTI Group, the parent company of one of our many suppliers, Youtravel, filed for bankruptcy. Only a very small portion of our customers are affected by this situation and we are working hard to minimize disruptions during their vacation,” he said.

“This is a rapidly evolving situation so we will remain in contact with affected customers as the situation develops and are very sorry for the inconvenience caused.”

Additionally, customers who have booked through Loveholidays will be protected by Atol, meaning they will get a refund if they have been asked to pay extra for their holiday.

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Currently, holidays booked after July 26 are expected to go ahead and customers will have to pay a cancellation fee if they attempt to withdraw.

In a statement, Youtravel.com said: “The insolvency of FTI Touristik GmbH has had a significant impact on Youtravel.com. Over the past three weeks, our management has actively engaged with the appointed administrator of the FTI Group and initiated the merger and acquisition process to secure our future.

“While we hope for a positive conclusion to these negotiations soon, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel all bookings up to and including 26 July 2024. We understand the inconvenience this may cause and sincerely apologise for any disruption. All active bookings in the Youtravel system for arrivals up to and including 26 July will be automatically cancelled without any fees before Monday 1 July 2024.”