AirTattoo beats refund deadline

Ticket refunds for this summer’s cancelled Royal International Air Tattoo have been processed ahead of schedule, organisers say.

The Air Tattoo, which was due to take place at RAF Fairford on July 12-13, had to be called off after a sustained period of heavy rainfall rendered the car parks and parts of the airfield unusable.

Immediately following the cancellation, the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises (RAFCTE), which organises the airshow, had to quickly reconcile ticket sales with all its external outlets including Ticketmaster, Tourist Information Centres and selected branches of Barclays and Robert Dyas.

Extra staff were employed to handle the thousands of requests for refunds and the process was completed within the eight-week deadline the company set itself. RAFCTE Director of Finance David Higham said he was delighted with the way his team responded to the challenge of setting up a robust administration system in such a short space of time.

“To set up a system that allows you to refund thousands of people’s money quickly yet at the same time enables you to maintain financial control over all the various outlets was quite challenging – particularly as this was the first time in the event’s 38-year history that we have found ourselves in such circumstances.
“We certainly didn’t underestimate the task and I am delighted that we were able to refund all ticket holders in such a timely manner.”

The Air Tattoo is staged in support of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. Mr Higham said: “Having sent out refunds, it was wonderful to see some people donating to the Charitable Trust. I think it demonstrates that whilst many people were undoubtedly disappointed, the vast majority were sympathetic to the difficult situation in which we found ourselves.”

Following the cancellation, Air Tattoo organisers announced that they will be looking to introduce measures to minimise such risks affecting future airshows. In 2009, the Air Tattoo will take place on July 18-19. For ticket details, visit www.airtattoo.com

For further information.

• Also see : RIAT 2009 website

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