Europe's second largest tour operator Thomas Cook has filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations with immediate effect. Hundreds of thousands of British tourists now have to cancel their holiday and be brought back home - or even can not start the booked trip.
What does that mean for German tourists? The most important questions and answers:
How many travelers are affected?
A total of around 600,000 tourists are either stuck in their holiday destinations or have booked an upcoming trip with Thomas Cook. 140,000 tourists are according to company information with German tour operators of Thomas Cook on vacation. For departures on the 23rd and 24th of September, around 21,000 guests are booked.
I'm on vacation with Thomas Cook - what do I need to know?
The German subsidiaries of Thomas Cook have not yet filed for bankruptcy, but stopped selling travel. Currently, according to the company, the last options are explored, if they fail, one sees themselves forced to also file for bankruptcy.
For German package travelers in the event of insolvency of the organizer, the insolvency insurance. However, this is limited to 110 million euros, which must insist an insurer for a fiscal year. Given the size of Thomas Cook, it's not clear if that's enough.
Travelers who are on vacation with Thomas Cook should contact the tour guide on the advice of travel lawyers. Thomas Cook asks on his website, to refrain from calls in the call centers and assures, to get in touch with those concerned. The return journey from German tourists is secured.
British tourists traveling with the parent company Thomas Cook, however, now need to be retrieved with great effort. In the UK, the state pays for restoring stranded vacationers from abroad. The UK government expects to pay several hundred million pounds for the "largest civilian recall operation ever" under the code name Operation Matterhorn.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had already provided numerous aircraft on Sunday, which carried the first British tourists on the night of Monday.
Imagine you are stuck somewhere
and Boris Johnson and Co. are your last salvation. # ThomasCook #OperationMatterhorn
I wanted to start a Thomas Cook trip soon - what happens now?
Traveling on the 23rd and 24th of September can not be guaranteed, according to Thomas Cook's German website. For travel from 25th September the situation is still unclear. Thomas Cook's English-language website states that all travel and flights operated by Thomas Cook and its subsidiaries have been canceled. All travel agencies are closed.
At the present time, the German Thomas Cook companies have not filed for insolvency. As soon as this happens, however, holidaymakers should get in touch with the safeguard of the trip, advises Robert Bartel, Legal Officer of the Brandenburg Consumer Center. Information and contact possibilities can be found usually in the security certificate of the travel agent. This is mandatory for package tour operators - they must insure against bankruptcy.
Which German tour operators belong to Thomas Cook?
Brands such as Neckermann-Reisen, Bucher Last Minute, Öger Tours, Air Marin and Thomas Cook Signature belong to the German event daughters. They, too, have completely stopped selling travel according to their own statements.
"Any sale of travel is stopped," it said about on the website of Neckermann travel. The organizer Aldiana, however, was not affected by the bankruptcy, said Thomas Cook on his website.
What happens if I have booked flights with the Thomas Cook subsidiary Condor?
The holiday flyer Condor assured shortly after the announcement of the insolvency plans that the flight operations continue. "Condor flights are still going on, even though parent company Thomas Cook Group plc has filed for bankruptcy," states an early Monday morning announcement.
For legal reasons, however, Condor may not bring any holidaymakers who have booked with Thomas Cook organizers to their destination. According to the current state, however, there is no need for German vacationers for a return action, as initiated by Great Britain. The return flights continue to take place.
To prevent liquidity bottlenecks at Condor, a state-guaranteed bridging loan was requested. This is currently being examined by the Federal Government.
Thomas Cook is particularly active in Europe and other Mediterranean countries - with the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca and the Turkish seaside resort of Antalya as the main destinations.