Hundreds of thousands of travelers were stranded across world Monday after British tour company Thomas Cook collapsed, immediately halting almost all its flights and hotel services and laying off all its employees. A stream of reports Monday morning gave some sense of extent of travel chaos: some 50,000 Thomas Cook travelers were stranded in Greece; up to 30,000 stuck in Spain’s Canary Islands; 21,000 in Turkey and 15,000 in Cyprus alone. An estimated 1 million future Thomas Cook travelers also found ir bookings for upcoming holidays canceled. Many are likely to receive refunds under travel insurance plans. 

'Thomas cook collapse'

company, which began in 1841 with a one-day train excursion in England and w has a business in 16 countries, has been struggling financially for years due to competition from budget airlines and ease of booking low-cost accommodations through internet. Thomas Cook also still owned almost 600 travel shops on major streets in Britain as well as 200 hotels, adding real estate costs to its crushing debt burden.

“ growing popularity of pick-and-mix type of travel that allows consumers to book ir holiday packs separately, as well as new kids on block like Airbnb, has seen travel industry change beyond all recognition in past decade, as consumers book travel, accommodation, and car hire independently,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

READ: Thomas Cook Shuts Down With Immediate Effect, Thousands Stranded

downfall

Things got worse this year, with company blaming a slowdown in bookings on uncertainty over Brexit, Britain’s impending departure from European Union. A drop in pound made it more expensive for British vacationers to travel abroad. Terror attacks in recent years in some markets like Egypt and Tunis also hurt its business, as did heat waves in rrn Europe. company had said Friday it was seeking 200 million pounds ($250 million) to avoid going bust and held talks over weekend with shareholders and creditors in an attempt to stave off collapse. CEO Peter Fankhauser said in a statement read outside company’s offices before dawn Monday that he deeply regrets shutdown.

“Despite huge efforts over a number of months and furr intense negotiations in recent days, we have t been able to secure a deal to save our business,” he said. “I kw that this outcome will be devastating to many people and will cause a lot of anxiety, stress, and disruption.”

Britain’s aviation authority said it had arranged an aircraft fleet for complex repatriation effort, which is expected to last two weeks. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said dozens of charter planes, from as far as Malaysia, had been hired to fly customers home free of charge. He said hundreds of people were staffing call centers and airport operations centers. Julie Robsson, a 58-year-old retiree from Yorkshire, was among those waiting Monday on Spanish island of Mallorca for a replacement flight to Manchester, England. She said while was satisfied with information she received from British authorities, Thomas Cook representative had t appeared at her group’s hotel since first rumors of financial difficulties emerged last week.

READ: Thomas Cook, British Travel Firm On Verge Of Financial Collapse

"A moral hazard"

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, traveling to New York for United Nations General Assembly, said government was right t to bail out company, arguing that travel firms should do more to ensure y don’t collapse. He said bailing out Thomas Cook would have established “a moral hazard” because or firms might later expect same treatment.

“We need to look at ways in which tour operators one way or ar can protect mselves from such bankruptcies in future,” Johnson said.

Most of Thomas Cook’s British customers are protected by government-run travel insurance program, which makes sure vacationers can get home if a British-based tour operator fails while y are abroad. Thomas Cook’s collapse is a huge blow to many companies in vacation resorts that have long relied on it for business. government said Thomas Cook clients would t be prevented from leaving country.

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