How can Buzz flights suddenly be suspended?

No matter how awful and inconvenient it is for customers of the airline, Buzz - now owned by Ryanair - is within its rights to close down the routes and cancel flights.

What are your rights to get a refund on your flight?

Buzz is offering to refund all customers who are booked on April's flights.

And Ryanair has said passengers will be able, from 12 March, to rebook themselves with new tickets.

Further help? Air Transport Users' Council: (http://www.auc.org.uk)

But it will be a watching brief for most customers over the next few weeks.

The Ryanair takeover has not yet been approved by the Competition Commission - the Office of Fair Trading is currently inviting comments on the proposed merger.

But if Ryanair pulled out of the deal and a buyer was not found for Buzz, then customers would find it almost impossible to get a refund.

Ryanair said in a statement: "These plans will be presented to the creditors and staff of Buzz over the coming days, after which a final decision will be taken on whether to restart flying as planned on May 1 2003, or close Buzz altogether."

What about my hotel and car hire?

The airline is unlikely to accept any liability for items such as hotel or car hire that may need to be cancelled or changed if you can no longer travel as a consequence.

According to Simon Evans, chief executive of the Air Transport Users' Council, while airlines will often give an alternative or a refund, they will not normally accept any liability for other expenses associated with your holiday.

But will my travel insurance cover the loss?

If you have travel insurance you may be able to claim, but you will have to check the terms and conditions carefully.

Unfortunately, while many insurers cover delays they do not cover airline failure - they will have an exclusion or simply exclude this from the cover.

Even if you have "holiday contractual disputes cover", cover may not apply.

What if I paid with a credit card?

The better news is that if you paid with a credit card, bought direct, and your payment was above �100 you might be better protected.

This is because under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, the credit card company is jointly liable.

The OFT's website has details on the act and what it covers.

Debit cards are exempt from this rule.