Thomas Cook has not managed to put the essential financial safety net in place and has ceased trading, leaving 150,000 holiday makers in need of repatriation. The Government were approached for a £250 million bailout but refused as they saw it as a short term fix that would only delay the inevitable and more money would be required to carry out the exercise that is being urgently thrown together now. The Government is chartering 45 aircraft to carry out the enormous task of repatriating  this huge number of holiday makers and it is expected that whoever needs assistance to get home will get it at no extra cost. The whole repatriation campaign is termed Operation Matterhorn.

The CEO of Thomas Cook, Peter Fankhauser, has apologised for the saddest turn of events in its 178 year history, that will put the jobs of 22,000 staff at risk globally, with approx. 9,000 of those UK based and abroad there are a further 450,000 passengers  involved.