SKYGREECE Another reason to use a travel agent

Posted on 08/31/2015 | About Greece

SkyGreece Airlines located in Attiki, Greece has announced a ‘temporary cessation’ of operations as of August 27. Consumers who purchased their SkyGreece Airlines travel services from a registered Ontario travel agency and who did not receive their travel services and have not been reimbursed may file a claim from the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund.
Consumers from Quebec and British Columbia who purchased tickets from licensed travel agencies may also apply for refunds from the Quebec’s consumer protection agency or BC’s Travel Assurance Fund. TICO advises that there is no provision for consumers who have purchased travel services from other out-of-province travel agencies or who have purchased travel services directly from the airline.

Meanwhile passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs has called for the Canadian Transportation Agency Agency to order the airline to rebook its stranded passengers on other airlines within 24 hours and put up $8.7 million of security to cover passenger claims.

SkyGreece is headquartered in Athens, Greece, but Lukacs said the company is registered as a Quebec corporation and owned or controlled by Canadians.

The CTA is giving the airline until 5 p.m. eastern time Monday to respond to the complaint filed by

Lukacs asking for an expedited process to handle the complaint - if it doesn't the expedited process will go ahead.

Perhaps travellers would be better served if Lukacs devoted more time to educating and encouraging them to book through licensed agents to ensure their protection right from the start, rather than trying to get their money back when they have booked direct or through an unlicensed party.

Some passengers have already returned to Canada, including Peter Fatiou and his son Stavros who went to Greece for a family wedding and then had to pay their own way home to Toronto on Sunday.

“It's frustrating, it's nerve wracking and it's five and a half thousand dollars later,” Stavros Fatiou told CTV News.

SkyGreece said last week that the flight disruption was due to technical issues and financial setbacks resulting from the Greek economic crisis. It did not elaborate but said th  flight cancellations were a temporary situation and operations were expected to resume soon.

The airline was began operations in 2014.  It has one aircraft  currently on the ground at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

Consumers have a six month filing deadline.  The deadline for SkyGreece claims is February 29, 2016.