A TRANSPORT firm that specialises in helping holidaymakers who have been trapped abroad make their way home has announced a new expansion.

Accrington-based CMAC Group has now acquired Ontraccs, a London-based firm that provides missed flight connection services to travellers.

This comes just weeks after the East Lancashire company demonstrated its expertise by helping 1,500 stranded tourists who had been trapped in Greece due to Storm Ionas get safely home.

CMAC Group chief executive Steve Turner said: “We feel that this solution perfectly complements our existing transport and accommodation services, and we look forward to our existing customers benefiting from it.”

CMAC has a history of being involved with large-scale rescues of stranded holidaymakers, with airline collapses and natural disasters often the cause.

The company uses local knowledge to find emergency accommodation for stranded holidaymakers and to is able to call upon partners like Irish airline Ryanair to organise flights to take them home.

As well as Accrington it has sites in Nottingham and Manchester along with a nationwide network of more than 4,000 approved suppliers, and transports over one million passengers a year.

Mr Turner said: “Ontraccs founder Ameer Peerally has worked incredibly hard to build a successful company and we are excited to drive this forward to scale our aviation solution across the UK and Europe.”

The Ontraccs founder said: “As a one-man band, my growth was limited to a few airports, so joining CMAC, for me, is the perfect synergy."