Thomas Cook, the package holiday giant, has collapsed after last-ditch attempts to save the company failed.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the tour operator has “ceased trading with immediate effect”, putting more than 20,000 jobs at risk worldwide and triggering the biggest ever peacetime repatriation.
More than 150,000 British holidaymakers need to be brought home, with the government and CAA hiring dozens of charter planes to fly customers home free of charge.
Hello and welcome to The Independent's rolling coverage of the collapse of holiday giant Thomas Cook.
The package holiday company collapsed last night after attempts to save the firm failed.
Our travel correspondent Simon Calder has the essential information for holidaymakers who are currently abroad and those who have a holiday booked with Thomas Cook.
You can read his advice here.
Thomas Cook's German airline subsidiary, Condor, has said it is still flying and is seeking a loan from the German government.
Condor said this morning that its flights are going ahead as scheduled, despite the insolvency of its parent company.
It said that “to prevent liquidity shortages at Condor, a state-guaranteed bridging loan has been applied for.”
The German government is currently considering the application, according to the company.
Last night, Boris Johnson admitted that the government had refused to grant the holiday company a £150m bailout.
The prime minister claimed it would create a “moral hazard” for other failing businesses.
Mr Johnson said:
“Obviously our thoughts are very much with the customers of Thomas Cook, the holidaymakers who now face difficulties getting home…
“It is perfectly true that a request was made to the government for a subvention of about £150m.
“Clearly, that is a lot of taxpayers’ money and sets up, as people will appreciate, a moral hazard in the case of future such commercial difficulties that companies face.”
You can read more about Mr Johnson's comments here.
John McDonnell, Labour’s shadow chancellor, has said the British government should have stepped in with a temporary rescue package for Thomas Cook.
This morning, he told the BBC:
"The government's intervention could have enabled us to just stabilise the situation, give a breathing space so that there could be proper consultation with the workforce in particular about how to go forward.
"To just stand to one side and watch this number of jobs go and so many holidaymakers have their holiday ruined, I just don't think that's wise government."
The head of the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) has said Thomas Cook employees’ have been “stabbed in the back” over the collapse of the holiday company.
Brian Strutton, the general secretary of BALPA, described the situation as “despicable”.
He said:
“Despite continuing to keep Thomas Cook going in recent weeks with dignity & integrity while their own futures were being secretly decided, we don’t even know if staff will get a pay cheque this month.
"It’s despicable. TCX pilots and all staff deserve better than this."
The UK travel trade association ABTA has released its advice for customers who have a booking with Thomas Cook or one of its Group companies.
Mark Tanzer, ABTA’s CEO, said he was “extremely saddened” by the news of the holiday firm’s collapse.
Our travel correspondent Simon Calder says Thomas Cook was still taking bookings just hours before it collapsed.
He said:
“Shortly before midnight on Sunday 22 September, I bought a cheap holiday in Greece. Thomas Cook was still taking bookings – and money – barely two hours before it collapsed.
“The package for two cost £187 per person, including flights from Stansted, transfers and accommodation.
“Even as Thomas Cook winds down, the company's reservation system is still sending out confirmations.
“At 8.12am, I received the Confirmation & Travel Document, with the cheery sign-off: 'We hope you have a fantastic trip and look forward to hearing about it when you get home.'"
Grant Shapps, the UK's transport secretary, has said Thomas Cook went under because it didn't “move with the times”.
He also defended the government’s decision to not bail out the company.
More from our travel correspondent Simon Calder:
“Thomas Cook’s closest rivals, easyJet and TUI, have both seen their share prices soar – up 6 and 7 per cent respectively in the first hour of trading.
“The market view is the removal of a giant competitor will allow these and other travel companies to increase prices over the winter and beyond.”
The head of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) has criticised the government’s response to Thomas Cook’s collapse.
Manuel Cortes has called for “immediate government intervention” to secure the future of the company.
He said:
“This need not have happened – the government had been given ample opportunity to step in and help Thomas Cook but has instead chosen ideological dogma over saving thousands of jobs.
“That they would rather hang our members out to dry instead of rescuing Thomas Cook is shameful and wrongheaded.”
He added that it would have been “cheaper and more cost effective” to save Thomas Cook rather than pay for the repatriation of 150,000 holidaymakers.
Mr Cortes also said this morning that Andrea Leadsom, the business secretary, has “refused” to meet the trade union to discuss the collapse.
This is what Ms Leadsom said about Thomas Cook earlier today:
This is what Ms Leadsom said about Thomas Cook earlier today:
Labour’s shadow business secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, has called the government’s response to the collapse “disgraceful”.
Labour have also said its not too late for the government to step in and rescue Thomas Cook.
Ms Long-Bailey said:
“Thanks to the government’s failure to act, staff employed by Thomas Cook may face redundancy while holidaymakers risk being left stranded overseas.
“The government must stop its recklessness and step in to avert this crisis by taking an equity stake”
“The government must stop its recklessness and step in to avert this crisis by taking an equity stake”
The Department of Transport and CAA have admitted that the repatriation process will be "hugely complex" but insisted that holidaymakers will be brought home.
Earlier this morning, the final Thomas Cook passenger flight landed at Manchester Airport after the company’s collapse.
Sky News has the video below:
More from Simon Calder:
Our travel correspondent spoke to BBC News earlier about the cause of Thomas Cook's collapse.
He said internet travel services and the rise of airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair have helped bring about the holiday company’s demise.
He added:
“Thomas Cook did not keep up with the pace. It still maintained the old idea that people would dutifully go into a travel agency, they’d sit down and be told what sort of holiday they could have…
“Unfortunately, the younger generations will simply organise everything the way they want it, probably on their smartphone, and the idea of going in and talking to somebody about it doesn’t exist.”
About 50,000 Thomas Cook customers are currently in Greece, according to the country's tourism minister, with about 22,000 of them expected to be flown home over the next three days, AP reports.
Haris Theocharis has said more than a dozen flights are due on Monday at the western islands of Zakynthos, Cephallonia and Corfu, as well as other popular Greek destinations, to start the repatriation effort.
He added that the company's collapse would deliver a strong blow to Greece's key tourism industry, which accounts for about a fifth of the country’s economy.
Matina Stevis-Gridneff, an EU correspondent for the New York Times, agreed that the collapse would have serious consequences for Greece’s tourism industry.
Aito, the British-based travel industry trade group, has said the effects of Thomas Cook’s collapse will “reverberate throughout the UK travel industry for many months”.
Derek Moore, Aito’s chairman, said it would cause “considerable human and business cost” in the travel and hotel industries.
The trade group has also called for a levy on airline seat sales, saying a repeat of repatriation of non-protected purchases, first implemented after the Monarch collapse, “undermines the whole Atol-protection system”.
The first repatriation flight has left John F Kennedy International Airport in New York with more than 300 passengers heading to Manchester, the CAA has announced.
It is expected to arrive at 5pm today.
There is a lot of anger going round from customers who have been affected by Thomas Cook's collapse.
Here is a selection of responses from some of the customers who have had their flights cancelled:
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Boris Johnson admitted he had refused the company's request for a £150m rescue package, insisting that doing so would create a "moral hazard".
