Customers of the Cologne-based travel company itravel contact the stern editorial office almost every day. For months, stern has been reporting repeatedly on the troubled online provider of individual luxury travel. In April, many customers at stern.de learned that the flamboyant itravel managing director Axel Schmiegelow had been arrested. Schmiegelow, 51, has been in custody since April 2, 2024, and the future of his group of companies seems more uncertain than ever.

His closest employees left the company shortly after the arrest and the travel provider can no longer be reached by phone. The itravel website is now offline, and emails to itravel.de addresses can no longer be delivered. Several customers unanimously reported to Stern that they had received a mass email with the same message last week. She began by saying, "We are sincerely sorry for not contacting you until now. If you are receiving this email then you have most likely booked a trip with us that cannot go ahead." The email did not answer what happens next for the customers who have booked and paid for supposed dream trips worth tens of thousands of euros. It ended with the note that the itravel travel advisors “neither bear responsibility for the situation nor can they do anything to change it.” Schmiegelow's lawyer left stern's questions unanswered.

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