British travel firm Thomas Cook collapses; Over 1 lakh tourists stranded

The world’s oldest travel firm Thomas Cook collapsed on Monday leaving more than a lakh tourists stranded around the globe. The British travel group declared bankruptcy after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal. It has led to UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers.

The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse.

In a statement released by the travel group, they said, “Despite considerable efforts, those discussions have not resulted in an agreement between the company’s stakeholders and proposed new money providers. The company’s board has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect.”

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.

Thomas Cook chief executive Peter Fankhauser said, “It is a matter of profound regret to me and the rest of the board that we were not successful. This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world.”

Thomas Cook has also been forced to shut travel agencies, leaving the group’s 22,000 global employees — 9,000 of whom are in Britain — out of a job.

The demise of Thomas Cook marks the end of one of Britain’s oldest companies that had become operational in 1841. It was running local rail excursions before it survived two world wars to pioneer package holidays first in Europe and then further afield.

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