Thomas Cook collapses as last-ditch rescue talks fail

Thomas Cook has collapsed after last-minute negotiations aimed at saving the 178-year-old holiday firm failed.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the tour operator has "ceased trading with immediate effect".

It has also triggered the biggest ever peacetime repatriation aimed at bringing more than 150,000 British holidaymakers home.

Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook's chief executive, said the firm's collapse was a "matter of profound regret".

Commenting as the company entered compulsory liquidation, Mr Fankhauser also apologised to the firm's "millions of customers, and thousands of employees".

The tour operator's failure puts 22,000 jobs at risk worldwide, including 9,000 in the UK.

 Thomas Cook: Much-loved brand with humble roots 

'Planes already being impounded' 

Thomas Cook customers 'will not be stranded'

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the company's collapse was "very sad news for staff and holidaymakers". 

He urged holidaymakers to be "understanding with staff" amid the "enormous" task of bringing people home. 

Mr Shapps has announced that the government and CAA has hired dozens of charter planes to fly customers home free of charge. 

The emergency operation, codenamed Operation Matterhorn, is aiming to bring home Britons currently on holiday with the firm.

On Sunday, empty aircraft had already started to be flown overseas, ready to bring British tourists home on Monday.

One of the world's best known holiday brands, the business was founded in 1841 in Leicestershire by cabinet-maker Thomas Cook.

How will holidaymakers get home?

All customers currently abroad with Thomas Cook who are booked to return to the UK over the next two weeks will be brought home "as close as possible" to their booked return date, the Department for Transport (DfT) has said.

Customers will be brought home to the UK on special free flights or booked onto another scheduled airline at no extra cost.

Flights will start operating from Monday, with details of each flight to be posted on a dedicated website as soon as they are available. 

The DfT added that a "small number" of passengers may need to book their own flight home and reclaim the costs.

Customers have been urged not to cut short their holiday or go to the airport without checking the website for more information about their return journey. 

The CAA is also contacting hotels accommodating Thomas Cook customers, who have booked as part of a package, to tell them that the cost of their accommodation will be covered by the government, through the Air Travel Trust Fund and Air Travel Organiser's Licence scheme (Atol).

The CAA said in a statement: "All Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled.

"We know that a company with such long-standing history ceasing trading will be very distressing for its customers and employees and our thoughts are with everyone affected by this news."

Tim Johnson, policy director of the CAA, told BBC News it has chartered "more than 40" aircraft, which are already in position, to bring passengers home.

He urged customers in the UK who were due to travel not to go to the airport "because very sadly your flight has been cancelled".

Mr Johnson added: "For those who have not yet started their holiday, we will be publishing details of how they can claim a refund on the website, no later than next Monday."

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom has said she will write to the Insolvency Service urging them to "fast-track" their investigation into the circumstances surrounding Thomas Cook going into liquidation.

The DfT said the investigation will also consider the conduct of the directors.

Travel expert Simon Calder told BBC News that planes at Manchester airport have already begun to be impounded following news of the collapse.

"Shortly after midnight, we saw the airport putting a notice of detention on some Thomas Cook aircraft because of unpaid airport bills," he said.

What went wrong?

Thomas Cook had secured a £900m rescue deal led by its largest shareholder Chinese firm Fosun in August, but a recent demand from its lending banks to raise a further £200m in contingency funding had put the deal in doubt.

Fosun said in a statement it was "disappointed" following news of the collapse.

It added: "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 by this outcome." 

The holiday company had spent all Sunday in talks with lenders trying to secure the additional funding and salvage the deal, but to no avail.

 

It had also asked the government for financial aid, a solution also urged by Labour and union groups.

But on Sunday Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the BBC the government did not "systematically step in" when businesses went under unless there was "a good strategic national interest".

Customers on a package holiday have Atol protection - a fund paid for through industry levies - which will cover the cost of their holiday and repatriation.

Thomas Cook has blamed a series of issues for its problems including political unrest in holiday destinations such as Turkey, last summer's prolonged heatwave and customers delaying booking holidays because of Brexit.

But the firm has also faced fierce competition from online travel agents and low-cost airlines.

In addition, many holidaymakers are putting together their own holidays and not using travel agents.

What are your rights?

 If you are on a package holiday you are covered by the Atol scheme.

The scheme will pay for your accommodation abroad, although you may have to move to a different hotel or apartment.

Atol will also pay to have you brought home if the airline is no longer operating.

If you have holiday booked in the future you will also be refunded by the scheme.

If you have booked a flight-only deal you will need to apply to your travel insurance company or credit card and debit card provider to seek a refund.

When Monarch Airlines collapsed in 2017, the government organised to bring home all the stranded passengers, whether they were covered by Atol or not.

Here is more information on Atol protection and Your questions answered

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• Source - BBC News

Thai official: 5 reported missing from sunken boat are alive

PHUKET, Thailand — Five people reported to have been missing from a tour boat that sank in a storm off the southern resort island of Phuket are alive, Thai authorities said Monday, though it's unclear if the five survived the sinking or never got on the boat.

Phuket Gov. Norrapat Plodthong said authorities are trying to verify their details and some of them may have left Thailand.

Norrapat said the development came after new information emerged from Thai immigration and the Chinese Embassy.

The new information also showed there were 89 tourists, 87 of them Chinese, on the boat, instead of the previous figure of 93, he said.

The number of people who are missing has been lowered from 14 to 10, including the five who are alive but whose whereabouts are unclear, he said. The death toll remains at 42, including a body still trapped under the wreckage.

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The double-decker Phoenix capsized and sank late Thursday afternoon after it was hit by 5-meter (16-foot) waves in one of Thailand's worse tourism-related disasters since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed thousands.

Officials said all of the dead were Chinese comprising 13 children, 18 women and 10 men. The age and sex of the body still under the wreckage wasn't known.

Navy officials on Monday were attempting to flip the boat to retrieve the body and check for other possible victims. Special equipment has been brought in to lift up the boat, which is sitting some 45 meters (148 feet) beneath the surface, officials said.

Tourism is a vital part of the Thai economy, with the World Bank estimating the Southeast Asian nation generates about 12 percent of its gross domestic product from tourism receipts. Chinese tourists are a key driver of the industry, accounting for 9.8 million of the record 35.38 million tourists to visit the country last year.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the country's military ruler, expressed his "profound sadness" in a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the letter released by the foreign ministry Monday, Prayuth said a full investigation is underway to find the cause of the tragedy and assured Xi his government is determined to ensure such incidents would not recur.

Prayuth arrived in Phuket on Monday to observe the operations and will visit Chinese relatives and survivors at a hospital.

Police said the captain of the Phoenix has been charged with "careless conduct leading to death" and could face more than three years in jail.

The captain of another boat that capsized on the same day and the manager of a travel agency that chartered the boat have also been charged for being careless leading to injuries. All the passengers from the second ship were rescued.

Tourism Minister Weerasak Kowsurat, who is in Phuket, has said the government will "spare no one" and will bring all those responsible to justice. Families of each victim could receive up to 1.4 million Thai baht ($42,000) in compensation, officials said.

Source - ChinaDaily