‘We’ve lost some hundred thousand dollars due to cancelled and delayed flights, Sergei Busko, GD of Mir Travel Company, reported during today’s press conference.

‘We had to look for other ways of making sure our clients arrived safely to their holiday destinations, we also had to cover all the trip and accommodation expenses while a suitable rearrangement was being adjusted. Our losses can be described as tremendous but not devastating, and it’s now the company’s top priority to recover financially,’ Mr Busko said.

‘We managed to arrange our clients’ trips through other flights, and some of them had also had agreed to travel to resorts other than planned. We’ll still have to refund a certain number of clients, which we are determined to do as promptly as possible.’

All this is the outcome of Mir signing a contract with Transglobal Airline in September 2005 concerning five chartered flights during winter holiday season 2005-2006. Yet the tourists found themselves unable to leave for Salzburg, Goa or Bali. The reasons for this are currently under investigation, Mr Busko said.