Category Archives: Thomas Cook

China tells banks to check exposure to debt-laden Fosun conglomerate

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Sprawling group owns assets including Thomas Cook, Club Med and Wolverhampton Wanderers

China’s biggest banks and state-owned companies have been told to check their financial exposure to Fosun, the sprawling conglomerate that owns assets including the Premier League football club Wolverhampton Wanderers, as the heavily debt-laden group struggles from the impact of downturn in the property sector in its home market.

The financial strength of the Shanghai-based group, co-founded in 1992 by the billionaire Guo Guangchang and built into one of China’s largest non-state-owned conglomerates, has come under scrutiny after a huge sell-off in property bonds that began in June.

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Travellers in rush for short breaks as England restrictions are eased

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Eurostar and easyJet report surge in ticket sales while package holiday operators anticipate bumper weekend

Package holiday operators have given a lukewarm response to the government’s latest easing of Covid-19 restrictions on arrivals in England, but travel firms that focus on short breaks have reported an uptick in 11th-hour bookings.

The the 10-day quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated people arriving from France was lifted on Thursday, while seven countries including Germany and Austria were added to the green list, meaning travellers must take only a couple of tests and do not need to quarantine.

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Thomas Cook staff and European tourist trade left reeling after collapse

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Former staff waiting for pay plan to take protests to Tory conference, and Greek hoteliers face a €500m hit

Staff from Thomas Cook are to hold protests at this week’s Tory party conference in Manchester and later at Downing Street over the government’s decision not to step in and save the company from liquidation.

Staff were due to get their monthly salaries on 30 September but are instead among Thomas Cook’s creditors, and it is now unclear when they will be paid. Some 150,000 UK holidaymakers are being repatriated at taxpayers’ expense following the demise of the world’s oldest tour operator. On 28 September, a further 16,700 customers were set to be flown home.

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Canary Islands hold their breath for Thomas Cook fallout

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Tour giant’s collapse leaves big hotel debts and staff fearing for jobs just before winter season

Under a late September sun that blisters white northern European skin with ease, Playa de las Américas offers its visitors a bounteous blend of the familiar and the exotic.

On the palm-lined main thoroughfare of the Tenerife resort town, tourists have an array of choice, from buying a pint for €1.50 (£1.33) to watching football matches, taking jetski trips and even Harley-Davidson tours of the island.

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Thomas Cook collapse: financial regulator may investigate – business live

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Failure of world’s oldest travel company leaves bosses facing tough questions over their pay and performance

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.

If you are an employee or creditor affected by #ThomasCook, we have useful information about how to make claims in the liquidation https://t.co/UpfHpctze5 pic.twitter.com/E8RfjuVpve

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

Related: Thomas Cook collapse: accounting watchdog weighs up investigation

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Fallout from Thomas Cook collapse felt across Europe and Africa

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Governments are in crisis-planning mode over efforts to repatriate 500,000 tourists

The collapse of Thomas Cook has plunged governments across Europe and Africa into crisis-planning mode as they help with the repatriation of more than 500,000 stranded tourists and begin to count the cost of the holiday company’s demise on already-battered economies.

About 50,000 holidaymakers are stranded in Greece, 21,000 in Turkey, 15,000 in Cyprus and 4,500 in Tunisia. Thousands of tourists are also stuck in the US and dozens of other countries. Most of the tourists are from the UK with an estimated 150,000 people, followed by Germany with about 140,000 holidaymakers.

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UK ministers accused of sealing Thomas Cook’s fate

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Offers from Spain and Turkey to save firm reportedly had no support from Westminster

The government has been accused of sealing Thomas Cook’s fate, as claims emerged that the Spanish and Turkish governments had offered to help save the stricken tour operator, only for the deal to disintegrate due to a lack of support in Westminster.

As recriminations flew, government-chartered aircraft began flying 150,000 stranded Thomas Cook customers back to the UK after the 178-year-old tour operator collapsed into liquidation in the early hours of Monday under the weight of its debts.

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Thomas Cook travel chaos: insolvency leaves 150,000 stranded on holidays – live updates

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A huge repatriation effort has begun after company ceases trading with immediate effect, causing flights to be cancelled

I’m going to hand over to my colleague Graeme Wearden now. Thanks for following along through the early hours.

A few reports have come through that Thomas Cook staff were not notified by the company of the trouble that the company was in. One said he found out the company had gone bust by reading media reports today. Another, whose family member worked for Thomas Cook, said the company had been telling staff up until yesterday that reports of financial distress had been inflated by the press.

If you know more, please get in touch: kate.lyons@theguardian.com

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Thomas Cook in last-ditch talks to avoid collapse

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Up to 150,000 UK holidaymakers affected with 9,000 British jobs at risk as firm looks for £200m in funds

Thomas Cook is holding last-ditch talks with key players on Sunday in a bid to avert a collapse that will affect 150,000 UK holidaymakers abroad and put 9,000 British jobs at risk.

The travel company is at risk of falling into administration imminently unless it finds £200m in extra funds. The government and the UK aviation watchdog are preparing to launch a rescue plan codenamed Operation Matterhorn.

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Cockpit coffee spill caused transatlantic flight diversion – AAIB

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Control panel was damaged during Condor flight after captain put cup on tray table

A pilot spilling coffee in the cockpit of a plane flying over the Atlantic Ocean forced it to turn back and land in Ireland.

The hot coffee damaged an audio control panel, which gave off an electrical burning smell and smoke, an accident report found. It created significant communication difficulty for the pilots flying the Airbus A330, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

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