World’s Oldest Travel Company Thomas Cook Crashes, Leaving Thousands of Tourists Stranded across the World

The 178-year-old travel company Thomas Cook Group has collapsed under a pile of debt after talks with its creditors failed. As a result of this, thousands of tourists booked by the travel company were stranded all over the world, while countries are trying to bring their citizens back home.

Early on Monday, the company had filed for administration after the last-minute negotiations to rise additional funding failed. The move resulted in the cancellation of all bookings including hotels and flights, sparking panic among the travelers. The collapse thus scripted the demise of what was one of the UK's best-known brands. 

Months of talks with Thomas Cook’s investors, led by a Chinese firm Fosun Tourism Group, which also owns the Club Med resort chain has proposed a $1.1 billion bailout to Thomas Cook in exchange for the control of Thomas Cook’s London-based tour operations and a minor stake in its airline. Last week, the tour operator said it needed 200 million pounds ($250 million) more, leading to the rapid unraveling finally led to the collapse of the deal.

Peter Fankhauser, CEO of Thomas Cook said, “Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable”. He also added, “This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world”.

As a result of the collapse, thousands of travelers on Thomas Cook vacation packages and flights are stranded across the world. Meanwhile the British government in what it is called the ‘largest repatriation in peacetime history’, the government assured it would work to return all those booked to come back to the UK in the next two weeks free of cost.

The British government also advised the travellers not to cut short their trips, as the civil aviation regulator are planning to repatriate customers as close as possible to their booked return date. 

Fosun Tourism Group on the other hand in a statement said that it was disappointed, as Thomas Cook was unable to find a solution. The company said, “Fosun confirms that its position remained unchanged throughout the process, but unfortunately other factors have changed. We extend our deepest sympathy to all those affected”.

In the 1840s a Victorian entrepreneur by the same name founded Thomas Cook. The company started with running train trips through the English Midlands. The business expanded as the growing middle class of Britain found they had more time and money to discover the delights of Europe. The company got its biggest boost in the 1970s and 1980s as Britons sought the travel on a cheap budget, which Thomas Cook assured. The ad slogan “Don’t just book it, Thomas Cook it” entered the national psyche at that time.

The company, now with more than 500 locations in Britain and more in number across the globe, is now dead with very little hope of its reemergence.