Thomas Cook is a 178-year-old British travel agency and airline company. nearly two centuries old, the travel agency declared bankruptcy this September. More than 600,000 customers worldwide were stranded from one day to the next; according to CNN, 150,000 of them were British. In fact, the company was forced to immediately suspend all financial operations.
It also operates an airline, with a fleet of 50 medium- and long-haul aircraft. It also owns several smaller airlines and subsidiaries. One of these is the German company Condor. This company flew its last aircraft into the sky just hours before declaring bankruptcy.
Both companies succeeded in bringing all their customers home, but the British Ministry of Transport had to participate in this “rescue.” Under the code name “Operation Matterhorn,” they organized a mission to repatriate all citizens. According to the British Aviation Authority, the rescue flight lasted until October 6. According to the British Aviation Authority, the rescue flight lasted until October 6. However, very fortunately, some had to wait only a few hours for their return flights.
Aircraft such as British Airways and EasyJet assisted in this operation, and according to the Guardian, it was they who carried the stranded passengers home. The destinations where the most people had to fly home were continental Europe, Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
The company faced problems as early as 2011, but managed to recover. It recovered from insolvency but was still hampered by continuing debt. Another major problem was the decline in demand that Thomas Cook experienced over the past two years, especially during the summer months. Uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the depreciation of the British currency may have also contributed to the collapse.