Thomas Cook, World’s Oldest Travel Firm Collapses
Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel firm, collapsed on Monday, after last-minute negotiations failed, stranding hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers around the globe.
A huge repatriation effort has begun after the company ceases trading with immediate effect, causing flights to be cancelled. Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser said it was a matter of profound regret that the company had gone out of business after it failed to secure a rescue package from its lenders. "I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years," Fankhauser said in a statement.
Credit - Reuters
The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said Thomas Cook had now ceased trading and the regulator and government would work together to bring the more than 150,000 British customers home over the next two weeks.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to get stranded British travellers home and revealed that the government had rejected a request from Thomas Cook for a bailout of about 150 million pounds ($187.1 million) because doing so would have set up a "moral hazard".
The collapse of Thomas Cook marks the end of Britain’s oldest companies that started life in 1841 running local rail excursion before it survived two world wars to pioneer package holidays and mass tourism.
The tour operator's collapse puts 22,000 jobs at risk worldwide, including 9,000 in the UK.We are sorry to announce that Thomas Cook has ceased trading with immediate effect.
— Thomas Cook (@ThomasCookUK) September 23, 2019
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Please visit https://t.co/WWiKkzLYQJ for further advice and information.#ThomasCook pic.twitter.com/Nf1X3jn97x
A huge repatriation effort has begun after the company ceases trading with immediate effect, causing flights to be cancelled. Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser said it was a matter of profound regret that the company had gone out of business after it failed to secure a rescue package from its lenders. "I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years," Fankhauser said in a statement.
Credit - Reuters
The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said Thomas Cook had now ceased trading and the regulator and government would work together to bring the more than 150,000 British customers home over the next two weeks.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to get stranded British travellers home and revealed that the government had rejected a request from Thomas Cook for a bailout of about 150 million pounds ($187.1 million) because doing so would have set up a "moral hazard".
The collapse of Thomas Cook marks the end of Britain’s oldest companies that started life in 1841 running local rail excursion before it survived two world wars to pioneer package holidays and mass tourism.
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