
“Mission accomplished” were two words on the mind of TICO’s Dorian Werda, manager of administration and claims, upon the safe arrival Sunday of 61 passengers onboard Skyservice flight #5G93 from Varadero, Holguin and Punta Cana. Werda, along with two other representatives from the Travel Industry Council of Ontario, personally flew down and supervised the repatriation of the 61 remaining passengers affected by the collapse of Conquest Vacations. Approximately 3,600 people were in various destinations at the time of the Conquest failure. TICO had been working with travel agencies and flight manifest information to determine the location of affected Ontario booked consumers. Travellers in destination at their respective hotels were then contacted by phone, letter and e-mail with return flight information. The 61 vacationers were most appreciative of TICO’s assistance in smoothing out their return to Canada. Kitchener, Ont. resident Steven Hall said passengers broke out in a spontaneous round of applause once the plane touched down in Toronto, followed by a chorus of “thank yous.”
Werda confirms that all affected passengers who had booked through an Ontario-registered travel agency have now safely returned home. Sunday’s flight was the last of 14 charters arranged by TICO to ensure the safe return of affected passengers. Consumers having out-of-pocket expenses in destination for accommodation, meals or transportation due to the Conquest failure will be reimbursed through the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund. Consumers who held future travel bookings with Conquest Vacations may also claim on the Compensation Fund. Claim forms can be accessed at
http://www.tico.ca or by calling 1-888-451-TICO.
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