On September 23, 2019, the world’s oldest holiday travel company and British tour operator, Thomas Cook, declared bankruptcy, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded and up to 21,000 jobs at risk.
What We Know:
- Just like a student in college, Thomas Cook had an 11:59pm deadline but instead of having to turn in an assignment, the company was due to pay its creditor.
- The company originally agreed to a £900 million rescue deal with its largest shareholder in China-Fosun in August but lenders demanded another £200 million.
- The company struggled with large amounts of debts. Thomas Cook, which served 22 million customers in 2018, had debts of around £1.25bn and in March of 2019 the company closed 21 of its stores. Fast-forward to this week, the company’s debt reached a whopping £2bn. It is said that the company’s decline is due the British pound losing its value.
- The Civil Aviation Authority announced at 2am on Monday morning that the company had gone into liquidation and that all flights and bookings had been cancelled.
- An article by CNN reports what travelers affected by this unfortunate event may need to know.
Many UK owned businesses and sports teams have sympathized with passengers and staff affected by the turn of events this week and are offering free tickets to games and job opportunities. Flyers are still unsure if they will receive refunds.
Today we’ve announced we will be hosting a jobs fair here at @manairport on 3rd October for the 3,000 Thomas Cook staff based in the North West. Dozens of companies will be attending and there will be hundreds of jobs. For more info/to book a place: https://t.co/nb5xfONnDc pic.twitter.com/gl1H8ExOgP
— Manchester Airport (@manairport) September 27, 2019
