Thousands of employees threatened, hundreds of thousands of tourists stuck. Thomas Cook is not far from the disaster scenario. The British tour operator's management met on the morning of Sunday, September 22 with lenders and creditors to save the company threatened with bankruptcy. The oldest travel agency in the world must quickly find another 200 million pounds (just over 220 million euros) to meet its financial deadlines.

A board of directors will meet in the early evening in the UK to determine whether the company, undermined by debt, competition from online sites and geopolitical uncertainties, still has a future. If Thomas Cook does not obtain the missing funds, the company will have to go bankrupt in the United Kingdom.

600 000 tourists concerned

The activities of the group should cease immediately. Its travel agencies should close, its planes would be grounded and the group's 22,000 employees could lose their jobs.

A bankruptcy scenario for Thomas Cook would also impact the 600,000 tourists currently on vacation with trips organized by the British agency. They could be stuck away from home, even if they should be taken care of by the authorities.

[Headlines] The countdown has begun for the British tour operator #ThomasCook, which must try to escape a resounding bankruptcy and avoid a repatriation operation of 600,000 tourists around the world #AFP 1/5 pic.twitter.com / T3r9jeuhIB

Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) September 22, 2019

Organized and purchased trips to the European Union are protected under an EU directive. In Great Britain, the Atol guarantee will come into play if Thomas Cook goes bankrupt, and the repatriation of holidaymakers will then be organized by the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Impacted hotels in Tunisia

The pioneer of tour operators is mainly present in Europe and around the Mediterranean, with Antalya, in Turkey, and Mallorca for flagship destinations. On the spot, the anguish also affects the hundreds of providers of Thomas Cook who see their incomes threatened, some also risking having to go out of business if the tour operator goes bankrupt.

In Hammamet, Tunisia, officials of the hotel Les Orangers thus briefly delayed the departure of a group of tourists, "time to verify that the payment" of their stay had been made, said a spokesman of the Tunisian Ministry of the Interior, joined by AFP.

According to a tourist interviewed by AFP, hotel officials asked for additional payments when this group had already paid the costs of their stay, given the situation of the tour operator.

"After an hour, they left the hotel and are currently at the airport.There are other Thomas Cook groups in Hammamet, Sousse, Mahdia and Djerba, all payment procedures have been settled", wanted to reassure the spokesman of the Tunisian Ministry.

With AFP and Reuters