Thomas Cook, one of the most well known brands in the history of the travel industry, has collapsed after a financial rescue failed to materialize.
The U.K. and Germany-listed public company needed a £200 million bailout to secure survival following a previous investment of £900 million in July this year was deemed too small to put it back on firmer ground.
It applied for "compulsory liquidation" with immediate effect in the early hours of September 23, putting the company in the hands of external officials to wind down business operations.
It has 34 aircraft and a 22,000 headcount worldwide, including those in call centers, retail travel agencies and support staff in hundreds of resorts.
Some 600,000 travelers are currently in-destination on trips provided by its range of tour operating brands or on flight-only deals on its airline.
They will be automatically repatriated under the terms of ATOL package trip bonding regulations.
The financial crisis that engulfed the company ahead of its collapse this week was blamed on political problems in destinations such as Tunisia and Turkey, travelers taking domestic holidays due to unseasonably warm weather in Northern Europe in 2017 and unease around the U.K.'s ongoing Brexit saga.
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