One of the oldest British tour company, Thomas Cook that lasted for 178 years until recently when it collapsed after it failed to secure the rescue funding. The collapse took place on 23 September 2019, Monday which led to the stranding of nearly 150,000 British customers. Due to the mishap, the further planned travel bookings for a huge number of vacationers across the globe, numbering to around 600,000, were immediately canceled. The chief executive of the company, Peter Fankhauser apologized to its thousands of employees and millions of customers who suffered because of the collapse. Moreover, the return of the 15,000 Britishers who are currently abroad will be recorded as the largest repatriation in the country’s peacetime history.
An aircraft fleet was arranged by Britain’s CAA to undertake the repatriation which is supposed to take 2 week’s duration. The process to repatriate the stranded Britishers was already been in action on Monday which was strictly warned not to be delayed by the officials. However, since the process is quite complex, the authorities of Thomas Cook have urged the nation’s government to look into the matter. Though majority of the stranded customers are under the coverage of government-run travel insurance program which ensures a safe comeback to their home in case of the failure of British-based tour operator when they are abroad.
Thomas Cook operates in 16 countries which was facing a tough time for the past two years. The loss is huge and so is the process of repatriation of 150,000 Britishers. The Civil Aviation Authority said Thomas Cook has stopped trading. The four airlines of the company will be grounded, and nearly 21,000 employees of Thomas Cook in 16 countries will lose their jobs including 9,000 of UK. The company several months ago raised an issue of slowdown in bookings which it claimed to bear due to the uncertainty of Brexit which was further adding to its severe burden of debt which was reported to be around 1.25 billion pounds. The debt signaled that political indecision related to Britain’s scheduled departure from the European Union at the October ending had hurt the demand for summer holiday travel.
As far as the repatriation plan is concerned, the British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the dozens of charter planes had been hired, from as far afield as Malaysia, to take customers to their home without any charge. This move is clearly indicating that the return of the flyers is kept at the utmost priority. However, there are steps taken to rescue the flyers; the news regarding the ceasing of the trade of the company with immediate effect has shook the country along the other 15 countries where its employees have to face the sudden loss of work. This sudden surge of unemployment is sure to impact the global economy which has already locally affected the country.
