Spanish Travel Agent has License Withdrawn

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), has withdrawn the license to sell flight tickets from the Spanish travel agency Viajes Marsans and has requested a bank guarantee of 20 million euros from the company.

The company's owners, Gerardo Díaz Ferrán and Gonzalo Pascual, described the action as "riding roughshod" over their company, going on to say how Viajes Marsans has always paid punctually since IATA came into existence.

IATA originally threatened to withdraw the licence Wednesday morning if it did not get the required bank guarantee, but in the end it carried out its threat on Tuesday.

The travel agencies affected by IATA's decision are: Viajes Marsans, Rural Tours Viajes, Viajes Atenea, Tiempo Libre, Viajes Crisol and Viajes Marsans Lusitana (Portugal).

The company's lawyers are already preparing action to appeal against IATA if they do not reverse their decision during Wednesday, claiming damages to the image of the company that has been running successfully for more than a hundred years.

The company described IATA's decision as "absurd" and promised to find a ways to continue serving its customers via other agencies if necessary.