Connect with us

Enterprise News

150,000 Customers Stranded, 20,000 Jobs to be Lost as Thomas Cook Collapses

Enterprise Team

Published

on

Thomas Cook, a UK tour operator collapsed on Sunday night leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded and placing 21,000 jobs at risk 9,000 which are in UK.

In a statement the 178 – year – old company said that its board concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect. This was after talks on a financial rescue failed.

All the bookings that were made with Thomas Cook have been cancelled. However, the company’s Chief Executive, Peter Fankhouser has apologized to the customers, employees, suppliers and partners.

“This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and make travel possible for millions of people around the world. ” he said.

Peter Fankhouser also added that “Despite huge effects over a number of months and further intense negotiations in recent day, we have not been able to secure a deal to save our business. I know that this outcome will be devastating to many people and cause a lot of anxiety, stress and disruption.”

The UK company has been struggling over the weekend to avoid the collapse after the Royal Bank of Scotland and a range of other banks demanded that Thomas Cook Group PLC find $250 million in funding by this week.

Grant Shapps, the United Kingdom Secretary of state for transport said in a statement that the government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are working towards helping the people affected by the collapse.

“Our contingency planning has helped acquire planes from across the world – some from as far away as Malaysia – and we have put hundreds of people on call centers and at airports” said Grant.

Thomas Cook on Friday confirmed to CNN that it had 600,000 customers on vacation including those 150,000 from the United Kingdom.

While speaking to BBC’s, Andrew Marr, the UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said that the government would not ‘systematically step in’ to save businesses unless there was a good strategic national interest.

In a statement, Dominic Raab said that the UK government have got all the contingency planning to make sure that none will be stranded. “I don’t want to go into detail of it because it depends on the nature of which people are out there, whether they’d booked a package or just paid fro flights,” he said.

The country’s Civil Aviation Authority confirmed to CNN that the plan nicknamed Operation Matterhon would coast the UK government an estimate of $750 million, the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.

BBC reported that CAA has chartered 45 jets to bring customers home from locations including Central America and Turkey. It will fly 64 routes on Monday in an undertaking called Operation Matterhorn.operators including easyJet and Virgin have supplied some aircraft, with jets coming from as far afield as Malaysia.

All Thomas Cook holidays are now cancelled and customers will need to seek compensation via the government’s Atol scheme, or from their credit card or insurance companies. BBC Reported.

Kenyan Enterprise is Kenya's most incisive and informative platform to learn about business news, technology, markets, companies, startups, leadership advise, curated business and industry opinion, and affluent lifestyles.

Enterprise Magazine is Owned by The Carlstic Group Ltd. Copyright © 2016—2024. Site Developed and Maintained by Carlstic