[ad_1]
LONDON – Tour operator and airline Thomas Cook said on Monday that it had collapsed, forcing hundreds of thousands of travelers to rush to find a way to get home, as a result of last-minute negotiations minute to obtain the necessary financing for the company.
"We are sorry to announce that Thomas Cook has ceased operations with immediate effect", the company said in a post on Twitter, and the authority of civil aviation in Britain said all Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and vacations, had been canceled, affecting approximately 600,000 people worldwide.
The liquidation of the world's oldest travel agency, specializing in low-cost package travel, including flights and accommodation in more than 60 destinations worldwide, set in motion what was described as the largest repatriation in Canada. Peace time in British history, The government has announced plans to bring back 150,000 Britons.
The Civil Aviation Authority stated that the first repatriation flight had departed from Kennedy Airport in New York with more than 300 passengers on board and was scheduled to land at about 5pm. in London.
Thomas Cook was struggling with debts of around £ 2 billion, forcing him to start negotiations with shareholders and creditors for at least £ 200 million of what was needed to run the company. With no other choice, the company has ceased operations.
Before the collapse, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the government would not intervene to save the airline, adding that it would create a "moral hazard" because the possibility of a government bailout could encourage other companies to take risks.
Condor, an airline owned by Thomas Cook, said it was seeking financial assistance from the German government to keep its planes in the air after the bankruptcy of the company, which had affected about 140,000 German travelers.
Condor said it had been "profitable for many years" and that a German government loan would help bring back its German travelers who were still expected to travel with Condor. Germans who have traveled with other Thomas Cook affiliates will also be covered by the compulsory insurance for package tour operators.
The Civil Aviation Authority said it was working with the government to support passengers who were due to return to Britain with Thomas Cook between Monday and October 6. In a statement posted on his website, State Secretary for Transport Grant Shapps warned that what is called "Matterhorn Operation" would not be "smooth sailing" .
The BBC reported that the government had chartered 45 jet planes to bring people home. Airlines, including easyJet, British Airways and Virgin, were providing planes, the BBC said, with some arriving by plane from Malaysia.
The aviation authority told passengers who were booked on Thomas Cook Airlines flights not to visit British airports, "because your flight will not be operational," and warned that Repatriation effort would not include any flights from Britain.
He also indicated that he had contacted the hotels hosting Thomas Cook's clients, who were booking their accommodation for a fixed price, to tell them that the cost of their stay would also be borne by the government. This announcement allayed fears that travelers would be unable to leave their hotel until the payment was settled.
On Saturday, British tourists said they were prevented from leaving their hotel in Tunisia for fear that the hotel would not be paid.
The effects of the collapse will reverberate far from Great Britain, seat of Thomas Cook. In Greece, where 50,000 holidaymakers are expected to be repatriated to their home country in the coming days, the collapse of society over the local economy is raising fears.
Michalis Vlatakis, president of the Crete tour operators union, described the events as a "magnitude 7 earthquake", adding that the local tourism sector was now "waiting for the tsunami".
About 70% of Crete's tour operators have contracts with Thomas Cook, he added, adding that this year, the British company had attracted 400,000 visitors to the island and other islands even more tributaries of tourism.
Layton Roche and Natalie Wells booked flights over a year ago between Manchester and Kos, a Greek island, for their wedding on Friday, and they were forced to improvise after the fall that transformed their plans in chaos.
"I've been awake for 28 hours now," a 30-year-old civil engineer, Mr. Roche, said on Monday when Wells, 31, was traveling to Birmingham to find an alternative. flight.
The couple had already paid about 4,000 pounds (about $ 5,000) for alternative flights for themselves and some family members, and they planned to spend an additional 2,000 pounds on their accommodation.
"I am completely deflated," Roche said, adding that about 80 percent of customers would not be able to do so because of the additional costs.
Roche said he expects a wait of at least three months before he can claim money through the Air Travel Planner license, a program that protects most vacation packages sold by travel agencies. trips based in Britain.
The failure of Thomas Cook triggered a debate in Britain over whether the government should have intervened to prevent the collapse. Addressing the UK TV channel ITV, Mr Shapps, secretary of transport, said that beyond the fact that "governments do not usually invest in travel agencies", Thomas Cook's bailout would probably have only delayed the inevitable by "stretching things for a few weeks."
"The company was asking for up to £ 250 million," he told Good Morning Britain. "They needed about £ 900 million on top of that, and they have debts of £ 1.7 billion." Spending taxpayers' money for that was simply not really a regular. "
The company's struggles intensified and Thomas Cook warned that the company had gone through a particularly difficult period during the semester ending in March.
Peter Fankhauser, general manager of Thomas Cook, cited a prolonged heat wave in the summer of 2018, which resulted in high prices in the Canary Islands, a popular destination for tour operators.
But he also noted that "there is no longer any doubt that the Brexit process has led many UK customers to delay their vacation plans for this summer."
The tour operator began operations in 1841, when a cabinetmaker – and the man who gave his name to the company – suggested a special itinerary to bring Leicester's temperance supporters to a meeting in Loughborough, at about twenty kilometers.
The company then expanded with trips to Continental Europe and North America and, according to its website, achieved a turnover of 7.8 billion pounds sterling and 19 million customers each year.
Visitors to the company's website Monday were greeted by a small gray screen with the company's logo informing them of the collapse. "Thomas Cook UK Plc and the UK Associated Entities have entered into compulsory liquidation and are now under the control of the Official Receiver", the website was read, inviting customers to visit the special website of a created civil aviation authority.
Most UK holiday travelers should be able to return home without financial loss. UK law requires these trips to be covered by the air travel license, which is intended to reimburse travelers if their tour operator stops doing business. But those who have only purchased flights from Thomas Cook do not enjoy the same protections and will rely more on personal travel insurance.
Andrea Leadsom, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, said in a statement that the government had the intention to create a task force to support the thousands of Thomas Cook's employees who will lose their jobs .
"This will be an extremely worrying time for Thomas Cook's employees, as well as for their customers," said Ms. Leadsom. "The government will do everything possible to support them."
The government has also said it will press for an accelerated investigation into the circumstances surrounding the liquidation of the company.
Two years ago, Monarch, another British carrier and tour operator, collapsed, leaving more than 100,000 passengers stranded abroad and forcing the government to step in and take them home.
[ad_2]
Source link