The U.K Civil Aviation Authority is organizing the return of
more than 150,000 travelers following the collapse of Thomas Cook Group.
The tour operator canceled all Thomas Cook Airlines flights
and closed all retail shops when it was unable to raise funding to continue
operations.
In what is being called the largest peacetime repatriation
effort in the U.K.'s history, the CAA is chartering flights and working with
other airlines to bring back passengers. The effort will last for two weeks.
Passengers scheduled to return after Oct. 6 will have to make their own
arrangements, according to the CAA.
The effort is even larger than the one following the collapse
of Monarch Airlines in 2017, in which about 110,000 passengers were stranded
abroad when the airline ceased operations.
While the vast majority of Thomas Cook Group's business is
leisure, the company had been making overtures to business travelers in recent
years, particularly with Germany-based Condor Airlines.
Condor's flights were still operating Monday, and the German
government is considering a loan to keep it running.
Earlier this year, Lufthansa Group made an offer to acquire
Condor, but Lufthansa has not released further details on its bid.
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Source: Business Travel News