Travelers around the world were surprised to see the following announcement this morning. Thomas Cook, a British tour company which just happens to be the oldest in the world, suddenly went dark.
Thomas Cook Group, including the UK tour operator and airline, has ceased trading with immediate effect.
— UK Civil Aviation Authority (@UK_CAA) September 23, 2019
All #ThomasCook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled.
Visit: https://t.co/g4G2b6RlHc pic.twitter.com/BxJMv5Yaw1
The struggling company tanked after the UK government refused to hand over a £250 million bailout. As a result, we have about 600,000 people with disrupted travel plans.
#UPDATE British travel firm #ThomasCook collapsed into bankruptcy on Monday, leaving some 600,000 holidaymakers stranded and sparking the UK's biggest repatriation since World War II https://t.co/YTp8hR58Aj By @benperry28 pic.twitter.com/OnAt5onUZ1
— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 23, 2019
VIDEO: ???? Tourists stranded in Mallorca as British travel group #ThomasCook declared bankruptcy after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK's biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back tens of thousands of passengers pic.twitter.com/QIi3Fq7xZQ
— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 23, 2019
The UK Civil Aviation Authority is determined to not leave them stranded for too long, as they prepare to issue repatriation flights via aircrafts from other operators.
“Every single person will be brought back home at the end of their holiday," CAA Chief Dame Deirdre Hutton promised.
Thomas Cook's chief executive Peter Fankhauser said the firm's collapse was a "matter of profound regret." In addition to putting a dent in thousands of individuals' trips and ruining at least one wedding, the Thomas Cook collapse also threatens upwards of 22,000 jobs around the world.
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