On Monday morning, British tour operator Thomas Cook went bankrupt, affecting 600,000 people globally, according to the Guardian. Thomas Cook also owns several travel companies in the Nordic countries, including Swedish Ving whose customers are affected by the bankruptcy.
Therefore, Thomas Cook goes bankruptHåkan Wasén is the aviation expert and journalist and follows the events development.
- Thomas Cook's bankruptcy is considered due to several things. A hot summer last summer which prevented people from traveling to the same extent. Concerns about Brexit. Rising fuel prices and fierce competition from low-cost companies.
What happens now?
- What happens is that the bankruptcy manager sits down and sees what parts can be continued. The airline is part and Ving is part, he says and continues:
- Ving is its own well-managed company. Maybe Ving can live on if they get another air carrier.
Must bring home all travelersHåkan Wasén says that the problem now is that you have to bring home all the travelers while making decisions about what is happening with the company, which is difficult. He says there have been indications that something like this might happen since August.
- Wing has probably been late to talk about the consequences of this. Now there are bottlenecks, hotels that do not want to leave the guests if they have not been paid, which means that people must be sent home. It's a huge mess.
He describes the situation as if someone had pulled the emergency brake and now nobody knows what is happening.
- It will probably take a couple of weeks before you are aware of what to do. Most trips are two weeks and only when all travelers are home can you see the full extent of it, says Håkan Wasén.