With the school six-week break underway, holiday-makers are preparing for the big getaway.

In the whirl of packing suitcases and sorting out passports, tickets and currency, it’s easy to get caught up in pre-holiday excitement – while losing sight of potential risks involved. But this year has spelled misery for many holiday-makers, thanks to the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud and the collapse of tour operator Goldtrail. The chaos has highlighted potential disasters of overseas holidays, and the need to be prepared.

Eccleshill teenager Isaac Brown could never have imagined, as he jetted to Cyprus, that he’d end up having life-saving surgery on the first day of his holiday.

As reported in the T&A last week, Isaac, 19, was with friends at a carnival when a commotion broke out. He fell to the ground with his throat slashed and underwent four hours of surgery. His mother is faced with raising £6,000 to pay for his treatment because he wasn’t fully insured.

Around 16,000 British people were overseas when Goldtrail went into administration earlier this month. And in April, thousands of passengers were stranded at airports in the UK and around Europe when flights were cancelled due to the ash cloud caused by the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano. There was further chaos in May when the ash returned.

As well as highlighting risks, recent events have showed up flaws in consumer protection. For many people, it came as a shock to discover their holidays weren’t legally defined as a package, or that free hotel accommodation isn’t a certainty in times of crisis. Others will be counting the cost of not taking out adequate insurance. Stephen Howard, proprietor of Stephen Howard Travel in Wibsey, says it’s “inevitable” that other tour operators will collapse, and travellers need to use a company they can rely on.

“It’s a difficult time for the travel industry and the ash cloud made things worse. A lot of companies made losses,” he said. “People should ensure they’re dealing with local travel agents belonging to Abta (the regulatory body for British travel agents) and a tour operator that has full ATOL (Air Travel Organisers’ Licence) bonding, to avoid losing out financially.

“We haven’t used Goldtrail for 12 months, but if we had people in difficulty, we’d take it upon ourselves to get them an alternative holiday and help get their money back. In recent times, people have been booking online, but that can mean if things go wrong there’s no-one to ring.”

Mr Howard says the volcanic ash cloud made holiday-makers – and tour operators – more aware of risks. “I’ve been in this industry for more than 30 years and I’d never come across anything like it,” he says.

“It brought home the importance of booking through a reliable, easily-contacted source that can offer reassurance and help.

“During the ash crisis, we rescued people from Europe by hiring cars to bring them home. A lot of tour operators dealing with budget airlines are now asking us to get clients’ mobile numbers, so people making independent arrangements can be contacted.” Ian Derbyshire, chief executive officer for Thomas Cook UK & Ireland says travellers are becoming more alert. “More UK holiday-makers than ever before are making sure that their holidays are protected,” he said.

“All our package holidays are ATOL-bonded, which means we’ll make sure holiday-makers are looked after if they are delayed in a resort and get home as safely and as soon as possible.”

The collapse of Goldtrail came on the busiest weekend of the holiday season for Thomson and First Choice, with around 162,000 holiday-makers due to fly with Thomson Airways. Thomson and First Choice shops in the district have been offering advice to customers left without a holiday.

Dermot Blastland, managing director, said: “The fact that all our package holidays are ATOL-bonded means our package holiday customers are financially protected.

“Furthermore, the fact that we’re a tour operator – rather than a stand-alone airline – means we have the infrastructure in place overseas and in the UK to offer all the assistance our customers need at what could be a most difficult time.”

With other companies facing potential trouble, and the ash cloud threat expected to be around for years, it may be advisable for holiday-makers to opt for the relative safety of package holidays – and read the small print.