British travel company Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel company, declared bankruptcy this morning, Monday, causing the largest peacetime repatriation crisis in British history and leaving 600,000 travelers stranded around the world.
According to international media reports, the company ceased operating after its negotiations with creditors failed in talks that lasted throughout the past weekend.
For his part, the company's chief executive, Peter Fankhauser, said in a statement issued this morning: "I would like to apologize to our millions of customers, and to the thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us over many years. I and all the members of the board are deeply sorry that we did not succeed."
Euronews also quoted the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as saying that Thomas Cook had ceased operating, and that the regulator and the government have a fleet of aircraft ready to begin bringing more than 150,000 British customers home over the next two weeks.
In a related context, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the company had asked the government for about 150 million pounds sterling in support, but rescuing it would have posed a moral hazard in light of the future commercial difficulties that companies face.
Johnson added, speaking to reporters on his flight to the United Nations General Assembly in New York: "This event prompts us to consider whether the directors of these companies have sufficient incentive to solve such problems."
The event marks the liquidation of the world's oldest travel company, which began operating in 1841 and expanded over the decades to run an empire of hotels, resorts and airlines used by 19 million people annually across 16 countries.
