London-based travel company Flight Options, which operates principally as Kiss Flights, has ceased trading, with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) stepping in to protect holidaymakers.

Some 60,000 passengers are likely to see their holiday plans disrupted following the collapse of the firm, which offered trips to Greece, Egypt, Turkey and the Canary Islands.

Up to 12,000 holidaymakers are presently abroad with Kiss Flights, all of whom will be able to complete their holidays under the terms of the CAA-run ATOL (Air Travel Operators Licensing) scheme.

A further 1,500 passengers are expected to fly today, with the final Kiss Flights departures expected at 18:00 BST.

A CAA spokesman explained: “We’ve arranged for about 1,500 Kiss Flights-booked people to get away on flights to the Mediterranean.

“People due to fly after 18:00 tonight can either seek compensation or go to travel agents and see if they can get an alternative flight.”

Kiss Flights is believed to have been badly hit by the collapse of tour operator Goldtrail late last month.

A statement from Flight Options explained: “In 2010, the companies suffered major setbacks due to very difficult and challenging conditions in the UK travel market resulting in poor yields and poor demand.

“The poor yields were mainly contributed to over capacity in the marketplace. Poor demand was attributed to volcanic ash, which not only closed the skies for seven days, but affected people’s confidence for well over six weeks, good weather in the UK, industrial actions and financial issues in Greece, bad ATC problems across Europe.

“The demise of Goldtrail Holidays was devastating.”

“All of the above have resulted in poor yields, very late booking trends - resulting in slow forward sales in September and October - which have resulted in severe cash flow issues.”

Passengers with Kiss Flights tickets can consult the CAA website for the latest information.