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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Graeme Wearden

Thomas Cook collapse: Customers hit with hotel bills - business live

Thomas Cook passengers at the Mallorca airport on the second day of repatriations.
Thomas Cook passengers at the Mallorca airport on the second day of repatriations. Photograph: Enrique Calvo/Reuters

Full story: Thomas Cook directors in spotlight

A closed service counter of travel agent Thomas Cook and airline Condor at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, today.
A closed service counter of travel agent Thomas Cook and airline Condor at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, today. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Here’s our latest news story on Thomas Cook:

Thomas Cook directors could face inquiry as rescue effort continues

Regulators and MPs were considering investigations into Thomas Cook’s auditors and directors as the fallout from the travel firm’s collapse continued on Tuesday, with thousands of staff and suppliers facing uncertain futures and more than 100,000 holidaymakers still due to be brought home on government rescue flights.

Britain’s accountancy regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), said it was considering the case for investigation and enforcement action “as a matter of urgency”, while MPs on the business select committee said there were “serious questions to answer” about how the firm was run.

The government has already announced a fast-track inquiry into the collapse by the Insolvency Service, which is charged with closing down the 178-year-old holiday business.

Potential concerns for the FRC include the extent of “exceptional items” on the company’s balance sheet, which could have swayed investors and affected annual results – as well as the profit-related bonuses paid to directors.

Thomas Cook was audited by two of the UK’s biggest accountancy firms, with EY succeeding PwC from 2017. The tour operator had a series of finance chiefs over the past two years.

The pay of the last three chief executives of Thomas Cook has come under increased scrutiny.

Labour’s John McDonnell has urged the former bosses to repay their bonuses while the Confederation of British Industry said “questions are now rightly being asked” about the £35m paid out over the past 12 years to Manny Fontenla-Novoa, Harriet Green and Peter Fankhauser....

More here:

More evidence of problems in Cuba tonight, from a Thomas Cook air hostess:

More information from Cuba, where hoteliers don’t appear to believe the UK authorities will cover bills....

Here’s the ambassador again:

Updated

Sounds like Condor has its rescue loan:

Here’s our latest story about the Thomas Cook staff who’ve lost their jobs:

In Cuba, holidaymakers hit with £1000+ bills

Now this is worrying.

Several people have contacted the UK Embassy in Cuba, saying they or their parents are holidaying with Thomas Cook -- and have been ordered to pay massive bills, running into thousands of pounds in some cases.

The embassy says it is aware of the problem, and confirmed that hotels should get the money they’re owed through the ATOL protection scheme - not from individual holidaymakers.

The UK ambassador in Cuba (Our Man in Havana) says the embassy is working hard to help....

Readers share views on Thomas Cook collapse

Some readers have written in to argue that the government should have kept Thomas Cook afloat.

Tom Jackson of Stockport, Greater Manchester, says the bill would have been tiny, compared to the cost of the financial crisis rescue package:

When the Royal Bank of Scotland experienced financial meltdown during the 2007-8 financial crisis Gordon Brown came to the rescue with £46bn government support, claiming that RBS was too big to fail.

It’s ironic that this bank requested its customer, Thomas Cook, to seek £200m to avoid administration and is now responsible for its demise, along with those who ran the travel company and the government. Another old established company bites the dust.

But Polly Bird of Bedlington, Northumberland, argues that Thomas Cook customers are getting decent treatment compared to other people who get caught up in travel chaos.

We live in strange times. UK holidaymakers were left stranded by holiday company Thomas Cook and the government rushed to organise planes to bring them home (Ministers ‘scuppered Thomas Cook deal’, 24 September).

UK citizens were left traumatised in adverse conditions having survived hurricane Irma and the government left them struggling to make their own ways home.

One Thomas Cook holidaymaker in Corfu tweets that Operation Matterhorn isn’t going too smoothly.

Her flight home was cancelled on Monday, then the next one was full, so after spending all day at the airport they were sent to a hotel. There was no flight today, so they’ll have to see what happens tomorrow:

A Condor check-in desk at Duesseldorf airport, Germany.
A Condor check-in desk at Duesseldorf airport, Germany. Photograph: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images

Reuters is reporting that Germany’s government has decided to give Condor, Thomas Cook’s German airline, a bridge loan.

The loan, in partnership with the state of Hesse, could be worth almost €400m, and would would allow Condor to keep operating.

Quite a contrast with London’s refusal to bail out Thomas Cook; the difference, though, is that Condor is profitable rather than insolvent.

Union demands reforms after Thomas Cook collapse

The Unite union has called for “radical reform” of financial regulation in the UK, following the Thomas Cook crisis.

Unite also hit out at the government for announcing a probe into the company - arguing it’s simply too late for staff who’ve lost their jobs.

Unite assistant general secretary Diana Holland says the current system is broken:

“The thousands of workers who yesterday lost their jobs, and the hundreds of thousands of people who had their holidays cancelled, will draw no comfort from the announcement of a probe by the Official Receiver.

“Yet again the Government is guilty of being asleep at the wheel. It failed to learn the lessons from Carillion’s collapse. If the Government had done so, the collapse of Thomas Cook may have been avoided.

“The UK financial regulatory system is broken and without proper checks and balances, we have no idea if other Thomas Cooks and Carillions are in the pipeline and no ability to prevent them from occurring.

“The collapse of Thomas Cook has not been allowed to happen in other countries as their governments and regulators have mechanisms to stop such a disastrous and immediate collapse as has happened in the UK.

“Radical reform of the UK’s financial regulatory system must be an absolute priority to prevent other workers in the future being dumped on the scrapheap without warning, through absolutely no fault of their own.”

Updated

Money Saving Expert, the consumer finance site, reports that some people who’d booked holidays with Thomas Cook have received refunds.

Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, says the “chargeback system”, which lets customers reverse a credit card payment, is working.

“The news that people are starting to get payouts should start to allow those people who’ve booked with Thomas Cook and have been holding their breath over the weekend at the panicked thought of lost money to breathe a sigh of relief.

“It’s still early days but at least this shows that attitude-wise, the system is working. Most people will be getting their money back through the ATOL scheme, but those who aren’t getting their money back through that and who paid on plastic we’re now seeing get these chargeback payouts from their card providers.

Sky News have also interviewed a Thomas Cook cabin crew worker about the moment they heard the company had gone under - and it’s an emotional read.

Julie Burns told Sky:

I was on a flight when we found out that we were losing our jobs. I was positioned out to Newcastle for four days and we’d been coming back from Antalya.

Before the flight, one of the girls had her phone on so we could see Thomas Cook’s chief executive, Peter Fankhauser, coming out of a meeting and at the time it seemed positive.

We were all a little upbeat, although we had got on the flight not knowing if we were going to be paid for it.

The most heartbreaking thing is that the passengers knew what had happened before we did.

When we landed, they had their phones on and they saw the news.

After all the passengers had got off, the senior flight attendant came up and she went, “That’s it guys, game over”.

I said “What do you mean?” and she said “It’s over, we’re finished”.

We all started crying and were really upset...

The full piece is online, here.

Newsflash: It’s all gone wrong for Northern Ireland bus-maker Wrightbus.

Sky News is reporting that Wrightbus, maker of London’s ‘Boris Bus’, will fall into administration on Wednesday.

Deloitte are expected to be appointed as administrators, putting 1,300 jobs at risk.

Sky’s Mark Kleinman says:

Sources close to one of the bidders said on Tuesday evening that the appointment of Deloitte was “almost certain” to happen within 24 hours, putting about 1300 jobs at risk.

The news will represent a devastating blow to Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector, with the prospects of Wrightbus being salvaged in its current form now understood to be remote

The move means Wrightbus failed in a last-minute dash to find a buyer, following weeks of talks.

Thanks to the un-prorogation of parliament, the government could face an urgent question on the collapse of Thomas Cook tomorrow.

This is good advice:

Thomas Cook holidaymakers: Here’s what to do if your hotel hits you with an unexpected bill...

The Press Association have also spoken with Thomas Cook customers whose hotel demanded they hand over money - even though they’re protected by the ATOL scheme.

Liam Archer and his partner Ciara Edwards, both from Gloucestershire, were asked by staff at their hotel on Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands to pay the equivalent of more than £800 to secure their Thomas Cook booking.

Mr Archer told the PA news agency: “We had a note through our door asking us to go to reception. We were then told we had one hour to pay 942 euro otherwise we would have been kicked out of the hotel.

“We rang the CAA and they told us to pay and keep receipts. Very stressful as we have had to ring around to find the money.”

Afternoon summary

Time for a recap

Pressure is building on Thomas Cook’s management and auditors after the holiday firm collapsed under a mountain of debt on Monday.

Parliament’s business committee has pledged to examine what went wrong. Rachel Reeves MP says there are “serious questions to answer, including about the company’s accounting practices, its renumeration policy and practice, and about the stewardship of the company.”

The Financial Reporting Council (which monitors the accountancy and auditing professions) is pondering whether to launch an “urgent” inquiry.

Such investigations could examine how Thomas Cook paid around £35m to its last three CEOs over the last 12 years, and whether its accounts were fully open and transparent.

Business secretary Andrea Leadsom also piled pressure onto directors, saying the Insolvency Service needs to get to the bottom of the situation. The CBI agrees.

The warnings came on the second day of Operation Matterhorn, which is repatriating the 160,000 people who were holidaying with Thomas Cook when it fell into liquidation.

The Civil Aviation Authority was planning to bring over 16,00 people back to the UK today, having repatriated nearly 15,000 on Monday. The CAA said the operation was going pretty well, although not without some hurdles.

Some flights have been delayed, while others are returning passengers to Manchester rather than their intended destinations (such as Newcastle or Gatwick).

Passengers waiting to board their flights at Palma de Mallorca’s airport, in Palma de Mallorca today
Passengers waiting to board their flights at Palma de Mallorca’s airport, in Palma de Mallorca today Photograph: Cati Cladera/EPA

Thomas Cook customers have also faced demands from hotels to pay bills, despite having already stumped up for their holidays. One told the Guardian that notes were pushed under their doors (photo here), showing how much they had to pay.

Customers have also been warned not to fall victim to fraudsters, who may claim to be calling from Thomas Cook with a refund.

Rival holiday firm TUI, has been forced to cancel some holidays too, having booked its customers onto Thomas Cook flights.

Anger is building against airlines and holiday firms for hiking their prices, as disappointed Thomas Cook customers try to find alternative flights.

The BBC have also spoken to Thomas Cook customers who’ve been told to pay for their hotel rooms, despite having already paid for their holidays (a problem we flagged up earlier)

Here’s a flavour:

Jess Beeton, on holiday with her partner Richard Berrington, said “everyone who booked through Thomas Cook has been locked out of the rooms”.

She added: “The only option we were given was to pay what Thomas Cook hasn’t, or get our stuff and leave.”

Jess said that after the hotel locked them out, she managed to gain access to their room by saying she had medication there that she needed to take.

Once inside, she and Richard locked themselves in, but they have since paid £520 on a credit card so they can stay at the hotel until their due departure date from Spain on Sunday.

MPs: We want answers on Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook’s bosses, directors and auditors have just been warned that they could be hauled to Westminster to explain themselves.

Rachel Reeves MP, chair of the BEIS Committee, says parliament wants answers about why the company collapsed, who made mistakes, and how bosses were paid so much for running the firm.

“The public will be rightly appalled that as Thomas Cook mounted up debt and as the company headed for trouble, company bosses were happily pocketing hefty pay-packages.

Now, in the aftermath of the company’s collapse, as frustrated travellers are stuck abroad, when holidays are being cancelled and thousands of staff are losing their jobs, there are serious questions to answer, including about the company’s accounting practices, its renumeration policy and practice, and about the stewardship of the company.

As a Committee, we are keen to seek answers to these questions and will discuss at the next meeting how we can do that.”

Football clubs have offering help to supporters who bought travel packages to games through Thomas Cook’s sports arm.

Chelsea has pledged to cover the costs for fans who booked travel with Thomas Cook to Lille or Southampton, and who now need to rebook.

Liverpool says it is trying to help supporters who’d bought packages through collapsed Thomas Cook for their next two home games -- against FC Salzburg in the Champions League, and the Premier League fixture against Leicester.

Thomas Cook customers have been warned not to fall for fraudsters, who may try to trick them out of their bank details.

Barclays Bank has warned people to be on their guard, in case a scammer phones up pretending to be able to help with rebooking a flight.

The Take Five campaign to raise fraud awareness also has some advice, including

  1. Don’t automatically click on a link in an email or message
  2. Be sceptical if you get an unsolicited call
  3. Contact your bank using the number or address they supply

One Twitter user flags up that people are being targeted:

Updated

Employees of the TUI travel organization handling telephone calls from concerned holiday makers who have booked a trip through Thomas Cook or Neckermann, in Rijswijk, the Netherlands, 24 September 2019. Guarantee Fund SGR set up a special telephone number with the help of TUI to assist travelers abroad. More than 600,000 vacation reservations were canceled on 23 September, after Thomas Cook ceased to operate. EPA/MARCO DE SWART
TUI employees in Rijswijk, the Netherlands, have been fielding calls from concerned holiday makers who have booked a trip through Thomas Cook or its Neckermann subsidiary Photograph: Marco de Swart/EPA

People who booked holidays through travel giant TUI are now caught up in Thomas Cook’s collapse.

TUI, who are Europe’s biggest tour operator, had used Thomas Cook Airlines to fly some of its customers to and from their destinations.

It has now decided to cancel all such holidays, up until the end of October.

In a statement, TUI says:

We’ve unfortunately had to cancel any TUI and First Choice bookings featuring Thomas Cook flights for any customers due to travel from Monday 23rd September until 31st October 2019. The advice is not to travel to the airport. We will be organising full holiday refunds for these customers and will process these as quickly as possible.

For any TUI and First Choice customers with Thomas Cook flights due to travel after this date, please bear with us as we look at other options and alternatives for you as a priority.

We are working hard to help affected customers find alternative holidays, so we will do everything we can to help in these extraordinary circumstances.

As we mentioned earlier today, TUI is also pledging to fly home any customers who are already on holiday, and had been scheduled to return on a Thomas Cook flight:

Glasgow Airport 'detains Thomas Cook planes'

Glasgow Airport has just detained four of Thomas Cook’s aeroplanes, as ‘security’ for the money it is owed by the company, reports the BBC’s Connor Gillies.

The last Thomas Cook flight landed in Glasgow early yesterday morning, from Orlando in Florida, a few hours after the company went into liquidations.

Scheduled departures from Glasgow were then suspended, as at other UK airports.

Airports owed landing fees by Thomas Cook will presumably be joining the ranks of creditors, who must file claims with the Insolvency Service.

Spain’s acting tourism minister has said there are 53,000 British tourists currently travelling with Thomas Cook at Spanish resorts.

Reyes Maroto also told reporters in Madrid that her ministry has been in touch with German and Swedish authorities to ensure Thomas Cook subsidiaries continue to operate at least for the winter season, Reuters reports.

Maroto also chaired a meeting with regional tourism ministers from Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Valencia, Catalonia and Andalusia and delegates of main Spanish touristic employers’ organizations to evaluate the impact of the collapse of Thomas Cook today.

Acting Spanish Tourism Minister, Reyes Maroto (4-L), and Secretary of State for Tourism, Isabel Oliver (3-L), hold a meeting with regional Tourism ministers from Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Valencia, Catalonia and Andalusia and delegates of main Spanish touristic employers’ organizations to evaluate the impact of the collapse of Thomas Cook in Madrid, Spain, 24 September 2019. More than 600,000 vacation reservations were canceled on 23 September, after Thomas Cook ceased to operate. According to media reports, the company’s collapse will see Britain’s largest peace time repatriation take place to get stranded customers home. EPA/Paco Campos

Here’s one of the notes pushed under the doors of Thomas Cook holidaymakers in Mallorca, asking them to pay bills owed by the company (see earlier post).

Notes given to guest travelling with Thomas Cook at a hotel in Mallorca
Notes given to guest travelling with Thomas Cook at a hotel in Mallorca Photograph: Robert Rowe/Guardian Community

Updated

Here’s a couple more photos of Thomas Cook customers trying to get home today:

Passengers of British travel group Thomas Cook queuing at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 24, 2019.
Passengers of British travel group Thomas Cook queuing at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 24, 2019. Photograph: Jaime Reina/AFP/Getty Images
British tourists, flying with Thomas Cook, queue at Mugla Milas Airport, in Mugla, Turkey on September 24, 2019.
British tourists, flying with Thomas Cook, queue at Mugla Milas Airport, in Mugla, Turkey on September 24, 2019. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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Thomas Cook customer: It's a giant self-help group out here

Thomas Cook Collapse Creates Traveler Havoc And Lost Jobs In MallorcaMALLORCA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 24: Passengers at the information desk of Thomas Cook and Condor at Palma de Mallorca airporton September 24, 2019 in Mallorca, Spain. British travel group Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy on September 23, 2019 after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178-year-old operator had been seeking £200 million from private investors to save it from collapse. (Photo by Clara Margais/Getty Images)
Passengers at the information desk of Thomas Cook and Condor at Palma de Mallorca airport today Photograph: Clara Margais/Getty Images

One Thomas Cook holiday maker describes the situation in his hotel as a ‘giant self-help group’ after guests were forced to sort out payment issues in the absence of any official help.

Reriree Robert Rowe, 67, his wife Maria are staying at Hotel More, a family run hotel in Alcudia town in Mallorca.

Rowe said that all hotel guests who were on Thomas Cook packages had notes put under their door on Monday morning asking them for money. He contacted CAA and was told that they were Atol protected and shouldn’t pay the hotel.

However many guests were unsure about what to do, he says (via our callout)

“95% are people here are pensioners and only a few people can use smartphones and people weren’t getting information as there were no reps around.”

“The hotel manager had asked for people’s bank details. It was very emotional, people were upset. Some guests were trying to sort it out and pass on the information from CAA. It was like a giant self-help group.”

Rowe said twenty or thirty guests held an impromptu meeting on Tuesday morning and reiterated that nobody should pay.

“ The hotel management haven’t asked for any more money. We’re laying low, we have four more days here. I feel sorry for them in a way because they’re a small family run hotel and it seems bad that Thomas Cook have put small traders in this position. But I think the way they handled it was poor.

“I come from Melbourne in Derbyshire, where Thomas Cook started. There’s Thomas Cook Close, Thomas Cook Gardens and Thomas Cook almshouses. I don’t know what they’re going to be called now.”

Updated

A lot of people face losses because of Thomas Cook’s collapse.

The companies suppliers could be left with unpaid bills, while employees need to submit claims to obtain the redundancy payments and wages they’re entitled to.

The Insolvency Service has more details here.

Here’s our news story about the accountancy watchdog sniffing around Thomas Cook’s collapse:

CBI backs probe into Thomas Cook

The Confederation of British Industry has backed calls for a probe into the “fat cat” pay at Thomas Cook.

Josh Hardie, deputy director-general at the CBI, says (via the Evening Standard).

Questions are now rightly being asked about directors’ remuneration and decision-making.

Disproportionate rewards are a lightning rod for public discontent, so high pay can only ever be justified by high performance over the long term.

The CBI represents Britain’s bosses, so won’t have enjoyed headlines about “fat cats creaming off £47m”.

Painful end to Tunisian holiday

British tourists, flying with Thomas Cook, queuomg at the Enfidha Hammamet International Airport, in Sousse, today.
British tourists, flying with Thomas Cook, queuomg at the Enfidha Hammamet International Airport, in Sousse, today. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Holidaymakers are sharing their stories of further difficulties as they try and return to the UK (through our callout to readers).

Nikita Locke, 22 was on a Thomas Cook package holiday at the SunConnect One hotel in Monastir, Tunisia with her sister Shannon and two young children.

They were supposed to be taken by coach organised by the hotel to Enfidha–Hammamet airport on Tuesday but were advised by the hotel to book their own taxi seven hours before their 1015 flight to Birmingham was due to depart, in case of disruption.

They paid 120 Tunisian Dinar, about £33.50, for the taxi in advance and were given a receipt by hotel staff but when the taxi arrived the driver claimed he hadn’t been paid by the hotel and demanded more money.

Locke said:

“It was 3am and we had the two kids screaming and crying, standing outside the hotel.

My sister and I were so stressed wondering if we were going to make it to the airport. I just refused to pay out any more money.”

The hotel finally paid the driver 45 minutes later, and the family were taken to the airport.

Their flight was due to depart at 10.15 am, but it’s now scheduled to leave at 1.20pm.

Reminder: you can shares your experiences here.

Passengers boarding a Thomas Cook airplane at the Heraklion airport on the island of Crete, Greece, today.
Passengers boarding a Thomas Cook airplane at the Heraklion airport on the island of Crete, Greece, today. Photograph: Stefanos Rapanis/Reuters

In Crete, authorities say eight UK-bound flights have been chartered to fly Thomas Cook customers back home today.

Some 20,000 Britons have been stranded on the island which has borne the brunt of the fallout in Greece of Thomas Cook’s bankruptcy. Two planes are scheduled to fly to Gatwick, two to Manchester with the rest slated to fly to Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow and Bristol. Around 50,000 Thomas Cook customers have been marooned nationwide.

Greece, already hard hit by its long-running debt crisis, has been hugely affected by the tour company’s collapse with the country’s tourism confederation estimating today that damages could reach €500m (up from initial estimates of €300m).

On Tuesday Haris Theoharis, the tourism minister, said the firm owed outstanding payments from mid-July to hotels and other businesses.

As the engine of the Greek economy, the tourism industry contributes around a quarter of total economic output, employing an ever growing number of people – at last count one in five.

Relief measures are being considered by the centre right government once total damages are calculated. Following an urgent meeting of tourism and finance ministers last night it emerged that tax cuts are among the measures being considered for enterprises worst affected by the tour operator’s liquidation.

Thomas Cook representatives waiting to assist passengers at the Heraklion airport on the island of Crete, Greece.
Thomas Cook representatives waiting to assist passengers at the Heraklion airport on the island of Crete, Greece. Photograph: Stefanos Rapanis/Reuters

The Financial Reporting Council’s job is to “promote transparency and integrity in business”.

That means upholding standards for accounting and actuarial work, and ensuring that corporate reporting and auditing is up to scratch.

If it does probe Thomas Cook’s collapse, as it’s threatening, the FRC could examine two issues

1) Thomas Cook’s use of one-off charges. The company was a keen user of ‘exceptional items’ -- stripping certain costs out of its financial results. That’s perfectly above board in principle, if it gives the City a better view of the underlying business. But it can be abused - which is why auditors need to ensure one-off items really are unusual.

2) Goodwill write-downs. Back in May, Thomas Cook took a £1bn impairment charge relating to its 2007 merger with MyTravel. Thomas Cook said it had to revalue the deal “in light of the weak trading environment” -- but you could ask why it took 12 years to conclude it overpaid.

Ben Martin has written a good piece about this in today’s Times, here. He points out that EY took over as Thomas Cook’s auditors in 2017, from PWC, and “strongly recommended” strengthening its procedures.

Accountancy regulator may probe Thomas Cook

Newsflash! Britain’s accountancy regulator has announced it could launch an urgent probe into the collapse of Thomas Cook yesterday.

The Financial Reporting Council says:

“In light of recent developments at Thomas Cook we are considering whether there is any case for investigation and enforcement action as a matter of urgency and in cooperation with the Insolvency Service.”

That follows the government’s decision to fast-track the Insolvency Services’s inquiry into why Thomas Cook fell into insolvency.

This is odd. The departures board at Palma Airport is now showing that all the Thomas Cook repatriation flights are delayed until 1am!

My colleague Sam Jones has sent this photo of the flights board.

Departures board at Palma Airport, September 24 2019
Departures board at Palma Airport, September 24 2019 Photograph: Sam Jones

It shows that flights to Stansted, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Gatwick, East Midlands and Cardiff have all been pushed back beyond midnight, rather than leaving this morning.

However, the CAA website suggests most of the flights were leaving on time, so perhaps this is an error?

Sam also reports that the airport is busy, but not as hectic as yesterday. There are FCO staff on the ground, but they’re not allowed to talk to the press. So it’s a confusing picture....

Thomas Cook staff, meanwhile, have been turning up for work despite not knowing if they’ll even get paid.

Here’s the latest on Thomas Cook, from Associated Press:

The British government has flown home the first 14,500 people stranded by the collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook, and is expected to ramp up the repatriation effort to get all the 150,000 U.K.-based customers home in two weeks.

The Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday the first batch of people were flown back after Thomas Cook ceased all operations Monday, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded around the world.

It was still unclear how many of the 600,000 total that were traveling with the company as of Sunday would remain stranded. German authorities were still mulling a request for a bridging loan from airline Condor, a subsidiary of Thomas Cook.

The company’s Dutch subsidiary said all flights scheduled for Tuesday were scrapped and customers won’t be able to use accommodation they booked.

Thomas Cook workers entering the company’s headquarters in Mallorca, Spain, today
Thomas Cook workers entering the company’s headquarters in Mallorca, Spain, today Photograph: Clara Margais/Getty Images

Despite yesterday’s collapse, Thomas Cook workers have been turning up to work today.

They’ll be assisting the Official Receiver, which was appointed to liquidate the company on Monday.

Pound volatile after Supreme Court ruling

Back in the markets, sterling is lurching around after the Supreme Court dramatically ruled against Boris Johnson, over the prorogation of parliament.

In a seismic ruling, the UK’s top judges have concluded that the suspension of parliament was ‘unlawful, void and of no effect’.

This sent the pound rocketing back towards $1.25 (a level hit last week), before subsiding back as traders wondered what happens next.

The pound vs the US dollar today
The pound vs the US dollar today Photograph: Refinitiv

Opposition MPs are calling for Johnson’s resignation, as they digest the details of a stinging ruling from the Supreme Court:

Labour MP Justin Madders has hit out at travel companies who have hiked their prices following Thomas Cook’s collapse.

He says a constituent is facing a 500% price hike to reschedule their honeymoon to Mexico.

Obviously there is a supply-and-demand issue at present, but companies should be wary of price-gouging....

Thomas Cook passengers at the Mallorca airport on the second day of repatriations following the collapse of the giant tour operator. Mallorca, Spain. September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Enrique Calvo
Day two of the Thomas Cook repatriation at Mallorca. Photograph: Enrique Calvo/Reuters

Sam Jones, who is in Mallorca, has this update on flights from Palma airport.

Eight flights are due to bring Thomas Cook customers home to the UK from Palma airport in Mallorca today. Some have been rerouted, while others are set to leave as previously scheduled:

The 10.25 to Stansted is currently set to take off as originally planned, as is the 10.35 to Bristol, the 10.45 to Manchester, the 11.10 to East Midlands, and the 11.30 to Cardiff.

The 11am flight from Palma to Gatwick is due to take off 15 minutes early, but will now land at Manchester.

The 10.50 to Birmingham has been pushed back to 20.15 and will now land in Manchester.

The 11am Palma-Newcastle flight has also been pushed back to 20.15 and will land in Manchester as well.

The CAA says transfers will be provided to all those landing at rescheduled destinations.

In other transport news, Uber has just been denied a new permanent licence to operate in London.

Instead, Transport for London has instead given the ride-hailing firm only a two-month extension to its licence, which is due to expire on Wednesday night.

It is the second time in two years that TfL has rejected Uber’s application for a full operating licence, following concerns it doesn’t meet its “fit and proper” test.

Here’s the full story:

Thomas Cook passengers queue in front of check-in desks at Reus airportThomas Cook passengers queue in front of check-in desks on the second day of repatriations at Reus airport, next to Tarragona, Spain, September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Albert Gea
Thomas Cook passengers queue in front of check-in desks at Reus airport
 Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters

Large queues are forming at Reus Airport near Tarragona, in Spain. But there’s good news for passengers -- the CAA expects to replace all three scheduled Thomas Cook flights, on time, today.

Thomas Cook passengers queue in front of check-in desks at Reus airportThomas Cook passengers queue in front of check-in desks on the second day of repatriations at Reus airport, next to Tarragona, Spain, September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Albert Gea

Large queues are forming at Mallorca airport in Parma, as Thomas Cook customers try to get onto one of today’s eight repatriation flights:

British government officials are there to help, wearing bright yellow high-visibility vests:

Thomas Cook passengers at the Mallorca airport on the second day of repatriations following the collapse of the giant tour operator. Mallorca, Spain. September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Enrique Calvo
Thomas Cook passengers at the Mallorca airport on the second day of repatriations following the collapse of the giant tour operatorA British government official pass next to Thomas Cook passengers at the Mallorca airport on the second day of repatriations following the collapse of the giant tour operator. Mallorca, Spain. September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Enrique Calvo

Updated

Leadsom: Bailing out Thomas Cook would have 'wasted' taxpayers' money

Business secretary Andrea Leadsom
Business secretary Andrea Leadsom Photograph: Sky News

Business secretary Andrea Leadsom has claimed it would have been a “waste of taxpayers’ money” to have bailed out Thomas Cook.

Speaking on Sky News, Leadsom says the company’s collapse is “incredibly sad”. She’s “so sorry” for those who have lost their jobs or why are trying to get home.

We want to look into how this happened, which is why the Insolvency Service has been asked to fast-track its usual investigation into its directors, to see if anything could have been done differently to “avert this disaster”, Leadsom continues.

Q: There’s a backlash against the pay received by Thomas Cook’s bosses. Do you and the PM now favour restricting pay and bonuses?

Leadsom says the government is “concerned to understand” how a business could build up a huge amount of debt, leaving it teetering for some time, with a business model that doesn’t seem to meet customer needs.

I do want to see what the Insolvency Service has to say about the events leading to the collapse of Thomas Cook.

Leadsom adds that we must “do more to align directors’ pay to performance”.

There’s lots we can do, but the situation is already better than a decade ago.

Q: Isn’t this just posturing? These companies are pursuing the free market policies the Conservative Party supports.

We’ve done a huge amount on corporate government already to make boards more accountable, Leadsom hits back.

Directors of boards who are earning significant sums need to be accountable for the performance of the businesses they run

We will look to see what more needs to be done to make them accountable.

But... these will need consultation, before any legislation is drawn up. These things take time, and the government doesn’t want to hurt businesses.

Q: What about these reports that Turkish and Spanish governments were ready to step in with £200m, but UK refused to provide guarantees to underwrite the funding?

There are all sorts of rumours flying around, says Leadsom.

The fact is that £200m is an underestimate of what TC needed, even for the short term, she claims, adding:

It would have been a waste of taxpayers’ money to throw good money after bad.

This is a very sad case, she concludes.

As a reminder.... Thomas Cook was trying to execute a recovery plan that would have wiped out £1.7bn of existing debts and injected an extra £900m of new funding into the company -- half from Chinese tourism business Fosun, the rest by a mixture of banks and hedge funds .

That plan floundered when lenders asked for an extra £200m to tide the company over.

The row over Thomas Cook’s ‘fat cat’ pay dominated today’s newspapers, from across the spectrum.

The Daily Mail reckons senior bosses at Thomas Cook “pocketed a £47million pay bonanza as the firm headed for the rocks”. That includes the £36m paid to its three CEOs since 2007 (as we reported overnight), plus millions more to other officials

The Mirror has also taken a swipe at the “greedy bosses”, with shadow chancellor John McDonnell saying:

They have a moral responsibility to return their bonuses.

They created this mess and there are large numbers of people losing their jobs. [Bosses] should hand the money back to compensate those workers.”

The Financial Times says those executives can expect scrutiny:

Thomas Cook’s management will be investigated by a UK government-backed probe into the travel group’s collapse, as holidaymakers flooded international airports on Monday to queue for rescue flights.

The full cost of the demise of the world’s oldest tour operator is still being assessed by restructuring specialists AlixPartners, with investors lining up to cherry-pick the best parts of its pan-European operations after the failure of last-ditch talks to secure a £1.1bn rescue deal.

The Times leads on Boris Johnson’s criticism of Thomas Cook’s management, questioning whether they should receive such huge packages when a firm can go ‘down the tubes’.

British passengers board an Airbus A380 airliner that is being used for transporting Thomas Cook customers at Dalaman Airport after Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel firm, collapsed stranding hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers around the globe and sparking the largest peacetime repatriation effort in British history, in Dalaman, Turkey, September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
British passengers leaving Dalaman Airport in Turkey last night. Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/Reuters

Nearly 1,000 British tourists left Turkey’s southwestern Mugla province yesterday, following Thomas Cook’s collapse.

Many left after nightfall,and were clearly pleased to be heading home.

An additional 3,000 tourists are expected to leave today.

British passengers cheer as they board an Airbus A380 airliner that is being used for transporting Thomas Cook customers at Dalaman Airport after Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel firm, collapsed stranding hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers around the globe and sparking the largest peacetime repatriation effort in British history, in Dalaman, Turkey, September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
British passengers cheer as they board an Airbus A380 airliner that is being used for transporting Thomas Cook customers at Dalaman Airport. Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/Reuters

A TUI Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft prepares to take off from Manchester Airport

The boss of travel company Tui said it would fly home Tui customers who are booked on Thomas Cook flights.

Friedrich Joussen, the chief executive, told shareholders this morning:

Tui is preparing measures to support. Where Tui customers are booked on Thomas Cook Airlines flights and these are no longer operated, replacement flights will be offered.

“We are currently assessing the short term impact of Thomas Cook’s insolvency under the current circumstances, on the final week of our 2019 financial result.

Tui also warned that the market remained tough due to the grounding of 737 Max aircraft, airline overcapacity and continued Brexit uncertainty.

Shares in TUI have jumped 1.4% in early trading, having surged 7% on Monday. Thomas Cook’s collapse should let TUI win more business, and potentially push up prices too.

Over at Palma airport, the CAA is planning to run eight flights back to the UK.

Two of them, though, are scheduled to leave around nine hours late, meaning passengers face a grim day at the airport.

They’ll both also land at Manchester, not Birmingham and Newcastle as expected –- meaning passengers will be put onto a coach and transferred to their original destination.

Updated

The boss of the Civil Aviation Authority says Operation Matterhorn, the repatriation of Thomas Cook customers, has had some difficulties - but overall is going well.

Speaking on BBBC Breakfast, Dame Deirdre Hutton said:

“It’s a two-week operation, that’s mainly because people go on holiday for two weeks, so we want everybody to continue to enjoy their holidays and we’ll bring them back on the day they were going to come back anyway.”

“I’m really pleased that the first day went well, we got back 95% of those we were intending.

There were some operational difficulties and we’ll continue to have that ... there’ll be some bumps in the road and if people could bear with us, but we have got off to a reasonable start which is very good.”

There’s nobody abroad who should have been home. We’re bringing people back when their holiday ends, so we’ve got another 135,000 people to bring....We’ve done 8% so far, we’ve got 13 days to go, so it’s still a big operation.”

We heard yesterday that around 30 holidaymakers in Tunisia were sent back to their hotels, because there wasn’t enough space for them on the repatriation flight.

There were also long queues and delays at airports such as Mahón, Menorca and Palma, Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands.

Updated

CAA: 16,800 passengers due back today

The Civil Aviation Authority has just announced that it brought 14,700 Thomas Cook customers back to the UK on Monday.

It is planning to run another 74 flights today, which should transport another 16,800 passengers at the end of their holidays.

However, some passengers will not be landing where they expected.

For example, flight MT1217 was due to land at Gatwick, but is instead being sent to Manchester. That means a long coach ride down to London to complete the journey.

Flight details for Thomas Cook repatriation flight

Introduction: Thomas Cook bosses under fire over pay

Passengers wait to be helped at Palma airport on Monday
Passengers wait to be helped at Palma airport on Monday Photograph: Cati Cladera/EPA

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

The management of Thomas Cook are facing serious questions over the pay today, after the world’s oldest tour operator collapsed – triggering Britain’s biggest ever peacetime repatriation.

As the first planes brought thousands of holidaymakers back to the UK, with heavy delays at some airports, accusations of “fat cat” incompetence rained down on the company.

Boris Johnson led the criticism, questioning why business leaders get away with paying themselves “large sums of money” as their business goes “down the tubes”.

Speaking in New York, at the UN climate summit, the PM said:

“I think it is a bit bewildering that you can have 160,000 people stranded.

“It’s not possible for me to know exactly what happened with the directors of the board of Thomas Cook and how it came about when they paid themselves x, y or z.

“But we’ve got to have a system in the future whereby we make sure that tour operators are in some way prevented from simply going belly up and then requiring the taxpayer to bring everybody home.”

British passengers wait for news on cancelled Thomas Cook flights at Palma de Mallorca airport yesterday
British passengers wait for news on cancelled Thomas Cook flights at Palma de Mallorca airport yesterday Photograph: Francisco Ubilla/AP

Estimates vary, but we’ve calculated that the three executives who led Thomas Cook over the last 12 years earned around £35m between them.

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, who led the acquisition spree that saddled the company with more than £1bn of debt, was handed more than £17m in just over four years as boss of Thomas Cook, boosted by bonuses awarded for slashing 2,800 jobs following the merger with MyTravel. He quit in 2011 as the tour operator came close to collapse.

His successor was Harriet Green, who was paid £4.7m for less than three years plus a share bonus worth a further £5.6m. She handed a third of that award to charities after the deaths of two children from carbon monoxide poisoning in Thomas Cook accommodation in Corfu.

Green also claimed £80,000 a year to cover her hotel bills at the five-star Brown’s hotel in London, where she lived during the week.

Peter Fankhauser, who was in charge when the company collapsed, was handed £8.3m, including £4.3m in bonuses.

The government has already ordered a probe into the firm’s collapse, so the Insolvency Service will examine why Thomas Cook collapsed in a mountain of debt, and whether directors are to blame.

Johnson and colleagues are also facing criticism, though, after refusing to help Thomas Cook by handing it a £200m lifeline. Some argue that this wouldn’t have addressed the company’s problems, but it appears to have scuppered rescue efforts led by Spain and Turkey.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Authority staff will continue to mobilise planes to get Thomas Cook’s customers home – with around 150,000 holidaymakers abroad yesterday when the firm sunk.

They’ve all been promised they’ll be brought home, but it could be a tricky process – with plenty of delays and confusion reported yesterday.

British passengers queue up in a check-in service at Dalaman Airport, Turkey, last night .
British passengers queue up in a check-in service at Dalaman Airport, Turkey, last night . Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/Reuters

Also coming up today

While Thomas Cook customers trudge home, City traders will be watching the supreme court which will rule whether Boris Johnson misled the Queen to suspend parliament.

New US and German confidence data could be interesting too, as worries of an economic downturn swirl after weak factory production figures on Monday.

The agenda

  • 9am BST: IFO survey of German business confidence
  • 9.30am BST: UK public finances for August
  • 3pm BST: US consumer confidence for August

Updated

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