Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Southall Travel refunds customers after Covid disruptions

Southall Travel refunds customers after Covid disruptions

A LEADING travel company has refunded more than £110 million to its customers and the UK government, following a multitude of disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Southall Travel Group also said it repaid all the money from the government’s furlough scheme.


The London-based group is one of the UK’s only major travel companies to have completed all refunds on package holidays which were cancelled due to the pandemic.

Southall Travel, which has been running for four decades, said they invested in both their customer care centre and its refund processing team shortly after the pandemic.

Due to a unique cost structure (scalable for upsizing or downsizing), the group said they were able to adapt, while reducing administration costs by 65 per cent.

DP 1 Kuljinder Singh Bahia Kuljinder Bahia

Director Kuljinder Bahia said the business “quickly made the decision to ramp up our refund operations in order to meet the demands of customers.”

“Despite our business being significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, we recently made the decision to repay all furlough money received from the UK government, for 2020 and 2021,” Bahia explained.

“We felt it was ethically correct to take this action, and not add to the already extreme pressures on the public purse caused by the unprecedented pandemic.”

He added: “The Covid-19 pandemic has continued to impact our business, however with the incredible success of the vaccine rollout, and the recent positive changes positive to travel restrictions here in the UK, which will make it much easier for people to travel abroad, there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel.”

Southall Travel Group is one of the UK’s leading travel companies, offering flights, hotels, and package holidays to global destinations, including the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, the USA, and the Far East.

More For You

Trump

Trump said the suspect had been arrested earlier for 'terrible crimes,' including child sex abuse, grand theft auto and false imprisonment, but was released under the Biden administration because Cuba refused to take him back.

Getty Images

Trump says accused in Dallas motel beheading will face first-degree murder charge

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has described Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, the Indian-origin motel manager killed in Dallas, as a “well-respected person” and said the accused will face a first-degree murder charge.

Nagamallaiah, 50, was killed last week at the Downtown Suites motel by co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a 37-year-old undocumented Cuban immigrant with a criminal history.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer Mandelson

Starmer talks with Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty

Starmer under pressure from party MPs after Mandelson dismissal

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer is facing questions within the Labour party after the sacking of US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson was removed last week after Bloomberg published emails showing messages of support he sent following Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction for sex offences. The dismissal comes just ahead of US president Donald Trump’s state visit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

Officials greet newly-elected Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government Sushila Karki (R) as she arrives at the prime minister's office in Kathmandu on September 14, 2025. (Photo by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

NEPAL’s new interim prime minister Sushila Karki on Sunday (14) pledged to act on protesters’ calls to end corruption and restore trust in government, as the country struggles with the aftermath of its worst political unrest in decades.

“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” Karki said in her first address to the nation since taking office on Friday (12). “What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality. We will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and hand over to the next parliament and ministers.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links on July 28, 2025 in Balmedie, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

THE British government has announced over £1.25 billion ($1.69bn) in fresh investment from major US financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by president Donald Trump.

The investment is expected to create 1,800 jobs across London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, and deepen transatlantic financial ties, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

Protesters wave Union Jack and St George's England flags during the "Unite The Kingdom" rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

MORE THAN 100,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday (13), carrying flags of England and Britain and scuffling with police in one of the UK's biggest right-wing demonstrations of modern times.

London's Metropolitan Police said the "Unite the Kingdom" march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by nearly 150,000 people, who were kept apart from a "Stand Up to Racism" counter-protest attended by around 5,000.

Keep ReadingShow less