Britain’s oldest travel company finally shut down this morning, after it failed to find the finances to pay off the £200m it owed to creditors. With 15,000 tourists stuck abroad, and an estimated 450,000 faced with cancelled holiday plans, well-known cruise lines across the UK are coming forward reassure passengers that rebooked cruises will go ahead.
Amongst the supporters were Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises who both promptly released statements assuring holidaymakers that they would be on hand to offer advice and information.
Princess Cruises will now take over all Thomas Cook bookings, saying in a statement that the company is “in the process of contacting all affected guests”.
Meanwhile, British cruise operator P&O have promised that all pre-booked vacations that are secured with ABTA/ATOL protection will be honoured.
For passengers destined for Mediterranean or Caribbean holidays, the firm have vowed to book passengers on alternative flights to the ferry po
According to Cruise Trade News Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises have put forward statements telling passengers to “hold tight” as they contact them in order of sail date.
TUI holidays, who are commonly associated with Thomas Cook and offer a number journeys using Thomas Cook’s aircraft extended their sympathy to both passengers and staff. “We are sorry to learn of the Thomas Cook news,” read a statement.
“We really feel for everyone affected by this announcement – customers on holiday, anyone due to travel with them and of course their employees.
“We will be holding a recruitment fair at our Luton Office for people who are impacted.”
Meanwhile, Giles Hawke, CEO of UK-based Cosmos and Avalon Waterways shared advice for concerned customers.
He said: “We are sad to learn that Thomas Cook has entered compulsory liquidation, our thoughts are with all the staff and customers affected.
“A number of Thomas Cook customers are booked on tours and cruises with Cosmos Tours Ltd – Cosmos, Globus and Avalon Waterways – and we can confirm that every booking with us, via Thomas Cook, is safe and customers’ holidays will go ahead.”
Travellers using Marella Cruises or First Choice holiday are also expected to be among those affected by Thomas Cook’s closure.
After media speculation on Friday, Thomas Cook descended to its demise over the weekend, failing to secure the additional funds it needed to pay back its lenders and support itself into the coming months.
With thousands of customers abandoned over seas, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has assured it will fly holidaymakers back to the UK.
Acting as a spokesperson for flight-comparison site www.jetcost.co.uk, Alana Gomez said: “ATOL and the UK government are going to find themselves with a mammoth effort to repatriate holidaymakers at a cost in the millions from UK taxpayers’ money.”
However, while some travellers may have a lengthy wait ahead of them for refunds, others have already seen results.
The first flights carrying stranded holidaymakers home arrives in the UK this morning at airports including Manchester, Glasgow and London Gatwick.
Additionally, compensation has been issued to those expecting to jet off abroad.
One customer took to Twitter to document their experience, writing: “Well our entire holiday got cancelled (we get a full refund) so we’ve just booked a new one. Looks life we’re off to Magaluf tomorrow, should be interesting! #ThomasCook.”
Authorities advise all Britons due to travel on a Thomas Cook cruise to check with the cruise ship operator.