Thomas Cook says 140,000 German tourists stranded abroad

17:16, September 23, 2019

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  UK travel giant Thomas Cook collapses, stranding tourists

  British travel group Thomas Cook on Monday declared bankruptcy after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UKs biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers.A woman walks towards the Thomas Cook check-in desks at Manchester Airport on September 22, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Photo: VCG)The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse."Despite considerable efforts, those discussions have not resulted in agreement between the companys stakeholders and proposed new money providers," Thomas Cook said in a statement."The companys board has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect."The government said it had hired planes to fly home an estimated 150,000 holidaymakers to the UK, in an operation starting on Monday."Following the collapse of Thomas Cook and the cancellation of all its flights, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that the government and UK Civil Aviation Authority has hired dozens of charter planes to fly customers home free of charge," a separate statement said, describing it as the largest repatriation in peacetime history."All customers currently abroad with Thomas Cook who are booked to return to the UK over the next two weeks will be brought home as close as possible to their booked return date."Thomas Cook chief executive Peter Fankhauser called it a "deeply sad day"."It is a matter of profound regret to me and the rest of the board that we were not successful," he said."This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world," he added in the groups statement.22,000 jobsThe firms creditors held a marathon meeting o...

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  Effort to bring home stranded Thomas Cook travelers underway

  The British government has flown home the first 14,500 people stranded by the collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook, and is expected to ramp up the repatriation effort to get all the 150,000 UK-based customers home in two weeks.British passengers with Thomas Cook wait in queue at Antalya airport in Antalya, Turkey, Monday Sept. 23, 2019. (File photo: AP)The Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday the first batch of people were flown back after Thomas Cook ceased all operations Monday, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded around the world.It was still unclear how many of the 600,000 total that were traveling with the company as of Sunday would remain stranded. German authorities were still mulling a request for a bridging loan from airline Condor, a subsidiary of Thomas Cook.The companys Dutch subsidiary said all flights scheduled for Tuesday were scrapped and customers wont be able to use accommodation they booked.

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  British PM questions Thomas Cook bosses’ pay

  Empty Thomas Cook check-in desk in Gatwick Airport, England Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (Photo: AP)Prime Minister Boris Johnson says a “huge effort” is underway to bring home British tourists and passengers stranded by the sudden financial collapse of travel company Thomas Cook.He adds Monday that steps needed to be taken so “you don’t end up with a situation where the taxpayer, where the state is having to step in and bring people home.”Johnson asks “whether it’s right that the directors and the board should pay themselves large sums when a company can go down the tubes like that.”He says tour companies must properly insure themselves against this kind of eventuality.Johnson spoke at the UK consul-generals residence in New York as he attended the UN General Assembly.