DOZENS of Irvine families have been left stranded in foreign airports or told that their holidays are cancelled following the collapse of Thomas Cook.

Irvine couple Kirsty and Mark Findlay were due to fly to Orlando on October 14 to attend a friend’s wedding, but have bee told their holiday may not go ahead.

Law Student Kirsty, 35, said: “We are supposed to be flying out for a friend’s wedding but it’s looking unlikely. We have been told that we will get our money back but it’s just a horrible situation. The bride is just devastated. She doesn’t know if things will go ahead now. It’s so awful.

“You think you will be safe when you book with a big company. This is the last thing you expect to happen.”

Dreghorn couple Annemarie and Aaron McDowell are currently in Majorca where they were supposed to be enjoying two weeks in a luxury villa. But since the news broke the couple have had to cut their holiday short by five days in order to guarantee a flight home.

Annemarie, who suffers from various medical conditions, had only taken enough medication to last her until this Friday – but travel operators were telling the couple they might need to stay on longer until a flight to Glasgow was available.

Annemarie said: “We just panicked. We knew nothing about it until I got a text from my son-in-law on Friday saying Thomas Cook had gone bust.

“We were so worried we might get stranded in an airport for days or get a flight to an airport in London or somewhere and have to find a way to get home. I have only brought enough medication to last the two weeks and I just can’t go without it.”

The couple managed to find a flight home tonight (Tuesday, September 24) but are out of pocked more than £500 and have had to cut their holiday short by five days.

Annemarie added: “It’s not great, but what else could we do? We need to be out of the villa by Saturday. The flights home are so expensive. All the other companies are bumping their prices right up, which is shocking.”

Another couple Wullie Evans and and Pamela Stewart have saved for a year for a holiday in Mexico.

The couple were due to fly out next week with their 12-year-old son, but have been told the flight is cancelled.

Wullie, 31, told the Times: “We have been waiting for a year for this holiday. We are gutted, but we are luckier than those who have lost their jobs. We will wait for the refund and book up again for next year.”