Berlin (AFP)

Germany will compensate customers Thomas Cook injured for hundreds of millions of euros, announced Wednesday the government in a statement, almost three months after the bankruptcy of the British tour operator.

The government is committed to covering "losses that are not reimbursed" by Thomas Cook's insurance, which covers only a "very small part" of the expenses of the injured clients.

In question, a "limitation of liability" up to "110 million euros" per year, applying to the insurance contract, and which particularly restricts repayments, said the Chancery in its statement.

Zurich Versicherungen insurance announced in November that the damage caused by the bankruptcy of the company amounted to 250 million euros. But according to experts quoted by the German media, they could go up to 500 million euros.

It was "not acceptable" for Thomas Cook's clients to "deal on their own" with "complex legal issues", involving "thousands of proceedings", with an "uncertain outcome", adds the government, which avoid to tourists "complex legal procedures".

Berlin promises more specific announcements on the subject "early 2020".

The German branch of the British tour operator Thomas Cook, which employs 2,000 people in the country, announced its recovery in September, in order to separate from its British parent company whose bankruptcy was announced the same month.

In November, the UK government also announced plans to set up a compensation mechanism for the travelers concerned.

© 2019 AFP