Following the bankruptcy of travel group Thomas Cook, Britain plans to fly more than 135,000 British tourists home in the next 13 days. On Monday, 14,700 stranded tourists have already been brought back, said the British airline CAA in London.
Government and aerospace companies are working around the clock on contingency plans to address the largest peacetime recall operation, code-named Operation Matterhorn. For Tuesday, 74 flights were scheduled to fly back 16,500 British tourists.
Around 600,000 holidaymakers worldwide are affected by the bankruptcy of the oldest travel group in the world. German tourists can continue their holiday for the time being, since the subsidiaries have not yet filed for bankruptcy. However, those who have booked their holiday with German subsidiaries of Thomas Cook, but have not started yet, can not leave (read here what travelers need to know now).
Condor is worried about survival
As the only one of Thomas Cook's five airlines, the German holiday airliner Condor maintained its operations on Monday - but Condor can no longer bring Thomas Cook customers to their destinations. Special teams answered the questions of the passengers at the airports. At the same time, the management is talking to all suppliers and partner companies in order to keep their machines in the air.
Following the bankruptcy of the British parent company, the once traditional Lufthansa brand is struggling to survive. The Federal Government is currently discussing whether the airline should be granted a bridging loan.
Consumer advocates appealed to the federal government to grant the requested loan to the airline. Also airport operators hope for the continuance of the airline. Previously, unions had demanded from the federal government to support Condor to get the 4900 jobs at the airline. By contrast, the taxpayer association rejects state aid to Condor.