Chief executive David Taylor confirmed in a statement issued to TTG on Thursday (18 June) up to 28 roles were at risk of redundancy. Staff have been briefed.

The firm employs nearly 100 people at its UK head office in Brighton.

Neilson said besides being unable to operate, it had seen a "significant downturn" in bookings over the past three months.

“The impact of Covid-19 has been worse than any of us could have imagined, leading to a total shutdown across the travel sector," said Taylor.

"My team have responded magnificently to this crisis as we have dealt with the repatriation of thousands of customers in March and subsequently cancelling, rearranging and refunding the bookings of thousands more.

"Many staff working through this crisis have taken pay cuts, and many more staff have been patiently waiting at home while on furlough with their fingers crossed that this crisis will pass."

Taylor said despite "decisive action" to safeguard Neilson’s future and "try to avoid the need to lose colleagues", the impact of the pandemic would likely result in a "severe downturn" in its business for the remainder of 2020 making job losses "unavoidable".

"We have been open and honest with our staff from the moment the crisis broke about the challenges the business was facing and that it could lead to this situation," Taylor added.

"We are a close knit family at Neilson, and I am fortunate to have one of the best teams in travel delivering award winning holidays, which makes the decision even more painful as it will lead to the loss of not just colleagues, but friends as well.

"The redundancy programme is part of a plan that will see Neilson survive Covid-19 and ensures we are in the best position to rebuild for the future.”