The world's oldest travel company Thomas Cook has gone bankrupt
"Despite significant efforts, these discussions did not lead to an agreement between the company's shareholders and new creditors. Thus, the company concluded that it had no choice but to immediately begin compulsory liquidation," the company said in a statement.
According to BBC, Thomas Cook CEO Peter Fankhauser said he deeply regrets that he and other board members were unable to succeed in the negotiations and apologized to "millions of customers, thousands of employees, suppliers and partners" of the company. "This is a very sad day for a company that pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world," Fankhauser said in the company statement.
At the time of the announcement of the company's problems, about 600,000 people who used Thomas Cook services were on vacation abroad, about 150,000 of them were British citizens. Their return home will be handled by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). As UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps said, this will be the largest peacetime operation to return citizens in the country's history. According to government plans, UK customers will be returned to the country from September 23 to October 6.
The world's oldest travel company
Tour operator Thomas Cook, one of the world's most famous travel brands, was founded in 1841 in Leicestershire by Thomas Cook. The company is considered the oldest in the world in the field of travel services. According to information on the company's website, it served 22 million tourists per year, owned 200 hotels and 105 aircraft.
Due to the liquidation of Thomas Cook, about 20,000 people in 16 countries will lose their jobs, including about 9,000 in the UK.
The company attributed its financial problems to various factors, including the turbulent political situation in holiday destinations and Brexit.
The firm also faced stiff competition from online travel agencies and low-cost carriers. In addition, many vacationers prefer to organize their own holidays and not use the services of tour operators and travel agencies.