More than 200 Australians are frustrated after a Melbourne-based travel company cancelled flights at the last minute, and accidentally shared their email addresses in the process.

AVG Travels told some of their customers on May 13 that scheduled flights to China were no longer going ahead, leaving customers questioning how they would get to their five-star holiday tour.

This meant that about 230 people, who had booked their departure for Monday morning, were left with only five days’ notice.

The company claimed that ‘exceptionally high travel demand’ and ‘operational limitations relating to accommodation and ground service capacity’ were to blame. 

‘Your current departure has been affected and requires alternative departure arrangements,’ it said in an email seen by the Daily Mail.

‘On behalf of the management team, we sincerely apologise for the disruption to your upcoming… tour. 

‘We understand your frustration and are committed to resolving this in full compliance with the Australian Consumer Law.’

Victorian business analyst Amma Owusu was one of the affected passengers who had been eagerly awaiting her trip to China for a 13-day, five-star package holiday called ‘Essence of China with Terracotta Warriors’, which cost at least $1,999.

Hundreds of Australians are frustrated after AVG Travels cancelled their flights to China just days before they were due to go on a five-star package holiday 

‘I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to having a break, and also because my birthday plans just went,’ the 42-year-old told the Daily Mail.

‘I’m also frustrated because I have to wait to get my money back before I can do anything.

‘If they had let us know last week and given us our money then, most of us would have made alternative arrangements by now.’

AVG Travels gave customers the option to reschedule their trip for two dates later this year or in 2027, with a $100 Travel Credit.

However, the bonus was ‘limited to the first registrations due to partner capacity’. 

It also offered the option to convert bookings to ‘land only’ – a tour or holiday package that excludes international or domestic airfare – which would mean customers would have to organise their own flights.

‘If a customer requests this option, we will provide the land services as scheduled and refund the difference in pricing (excluding the flight component),’ it said.

A third offering was for passengers to receive a refund, which would take 50 to 60 business days due to the ‘complexity of recovering deposits from international airlines and overseas providers’. 

AVG Travels said ‘exceptionally high travel demand’ and ‘operational limitations relating to accommodation and ground service capacity’ were to blame for the cancellations

Ms Owusu said she had chosen AVG Travels because they allowed travellers to add days to their package trip. 

‘That meant I could go to Hong Kong and a few other places before coming back home,’ she said. 

But, she said her plans were now ruined and she was struggling to afford flights to additional destinations. 

Almost a week after the news, she managed to organise her refund on Tuesday.

The Daily Mail has contacted AVG Travels for comment. 

The travel agency had also been forced to apologise to customers before they cancelled their flights due to accidentally sharing personal information. 

Chief executive David Dao had sent an email on May 11, in which he said there were delays to flight confirmations.

‘We know many customers are concerned while waiting for travel updates and final flight confirmations for upcoming departures, and we sincerely apologise for the uncertainty this has caused,’ he wrote.

AVG Travels chief executive David Dao (pictured) sent an email on May 11, in which he said there were delays to flight confirmations 

‘Due to ongoing operational disruptions during this current peak travel period, some bookings are taking longer than expected to finalise.’

However, Mr Dao copied recipients into the email instead of blind copying them, resulting in all email addresses being visible and breaching data privacy. 

This prompted a further apology from the customer support team.

‘We sincerely apologise for an administrative error in our previous email communication, where customer email addresses were unintentionally visible to other recipients,’ it read.

‘To protect customer privacy, we kindly ask that you do not reply to the previous email thread and delete the earlier email from your inbox. 

‘We are currently reviewing this matter internally and taking immediate steps to ensure this does not happen again.’

The Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) has since suspended AVG Travels’ membership while many of the disgruntled clients sent complaints to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or ACCC.

‘On becoming aware of complaints against AVG Travels this week, we moved quickly to review their accreditation status,’ general manager Mira Yates said, ABC News reports.

‘That review has resulted in the immediate suspension of AVG Travels’ CATO accreditation.’