Zoom Goes Under Leaving Passengers Stranded All Over Europe

As many as 450 Zoom Airlines passengers scheduled to travel via Vancouver International Airport (YVR) on Thursday are stranded after the company, which has sought court protection from creditors, cancelled all flights and suspended operations.

The Vancouver Airport Authority said no Zoom flights will be arriving to or departing from the city Thursday.

Don Ehrenholz, vice-president of operations, said three Zoom aircraft bound for Vancouver are being held in Europe.

"The three aircraft … inbound to Vancouver are still in Europe," Ehrenholz told CBC News in a telephone interview. "As a result, the three flights that we expected to arrive later this afternoon will not arrive."

Passengers planning to travel on Zoom Airlines are being advised not to go to the airport, and to visit the airline's website for the latest information, Ehrenholz said.

People expecting to meet passengers from a Zoom flight should check with the passengers to find out their revised travel plans.

"We're just starting discussions with all the other airlines that fly to the same destinations in Vancouver to see if they have space and can accommodate some of the folks that do arrive at the airport," Ehrenholz said.

Those stranded include passengers from three inbound flights from London Gatwick, Glasgow, and Cardiff/Belfast. The outbound flights cancelled at YVR include one to London Gatwick, one to Paris via Calgary and one to Glasgow via Manchester.

Ottawa-based Zoom Airlines, which flies in Canada, the Caribbean and Europe, blamed its troubles on the sagging economy and the increases in fuel prices that resulted in a $50-million increase in operating costs in 2007 alone.

Ramsay Smith, Zoom's executive chair, said Thursday that travellers who bought tickets for future flights with a credit card should contact the credit card company for a refund, but people who paid cash may be out of luck.

"It would not be possible at this stage but an administrator will be appointed to run the affairs of Zoom and to deal with those kinds of issues," Smith told CBC News in a telephone interview.