Tour company Thomas Cook collapses: Live updates - CNN International

British tourists, flying with Thomas Cook, queue at the Enfidha International Airport in Tunisia September 23, 2019. FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images

Around 600,000 travelers are affected by the collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook.

The countries where the largest numbers of tourists are stranded are Spain, Turkey, Tunisia and Greece.

Here's what affected travelers need to know:

I'm currently on a Thomas Cook holiday. How do I get home?

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will arrange return flights for ATOL-protected travelers currently abroad who were planning to fly back to the UK with Thomas Cook.

What is ATOL? It stands for "Air Travel Organiser's Licence" -- it's a UK financial protection scheme that safeguards most package holidays sold by travel businesses based in the UK.

Basically, it prevents travelers from being left without assistance or facing a financial loss if their travel company stops trading. Which is exactly what happened in the UK on Sunday.

For those currently abroad and due to fly back to the UK with Thomas Cook, the CAA is providing new flights to get them home.

What about hotels?

Now for the bad news: Travelers who only booked hotels through Thomas Cook and not flight-inclusive packages will have to foot the hotel bill themselves.

But if your Thomas Cook holiday included flights, there is specific advice about accommodation.

The CAA says that if you are currently abroad on an ATOL-protected package holiday with Thomas Cook -- or any company which is part of the Thomas Cook Group -- the authority "will seek to guarantee your stay directly with your hotel."

The CAA says it may take a few days to secure these arrangements. In the meantime, do not make a payment to your hotel, unless instructed otherwise by the CAA team.

If you are not ATOL-protected, the CAA says you can't make a claim for out-of-pocket expenses and additional nights of hotel accommodation -- but you may be able to claim from your travel insurer, bank or credit card issuer.

I haven't traveled yet. How do I get a refund?

Don't bother going to the airport. All Thomas Cook flights were immediately canceled following the announcement of the company's shutdown.

As for getting a refund, again, in the UK it all comes down to ATOL. If your holiday was protected, you should be able to file a claim via the ATOL scheme.

Now here's where things get a bit tricky.

The CAA says if you booked a holiday with Thomas Cook but your flights are with an airline unrelated to the Thomas Cook Group, your flights may still be available.

"You are advised to check with the airline if you are still able to travel," says the authority's advice.

"If you wish to travel, you can do so and make a claim to ATOL for the cost of replacing your other travel services. You are not obliged to use your flights and can instead claim a refund under the ATOL scheme."

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2019-09-23 14:08:00Z
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Tour company Thomas Cook collapses: Live updates - CNN International

British tourists, flying with Thomas Cook, queue at the Enfidha International Airport in Tunisia September 23, 2019. FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images

Around 600,000 travelers are affected by the collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook.

The countries where the largest numbers of tourists are stranded are Spain, Turkey, Tunisia and Greece.

Here's what affected travelers need to know:

I'm currently on a Thomas Cook holiday. How do I get home?

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will arrange return flights for ATOL-protected travelers currently abroad who were planning to fly back to the UK with Thomas Cook.

What is ATOL? It stands for "Air Travel Organiser's Licence" -- it's a UK financial protection scheme that safeguards most package holidays sold by travel businesses based in the UK.

Basically, it prevents travelers from being left without assistance or facing a financial loss if their travel company stops trading. Which is exactly what happened in the UK on Sunday.

For those currently abroad and due to fly back to the UK with Thomas Cook, the CAA is providing new flights to get them home.

What about hotels?

Now for the bad news: Travelers who only booked hotels through Thomas Cook and not flight-inclusive packages will have to foot the hotel bill themselves.

But if your Thomas Cook holiday included flights, there is specific advice about accommodation.

The CAA says that if you are currently abroad on an ATOL-protected package holiday with Thomas Cook -- or any company which is part of the Thomas Cook Group -- the authority "will seek to guarantee your stay directly with your hotel."

The CAA says it may take a few days to secure these arrangements. In the meantime, do not make a payment to your hotel, unless instructed otherwise by the CAA team.

If you are not ATOL-protected, the CAA says you can't make a claim for out-of-pocket expenses and additional nights of hotel accommodation -- but you may be able to claim from your travel insurer, bank or credit card issuer.

I haven't traveled yet. How do I get a refund?

Don't bother going to the airport. All Thomas Cook flights were immediately canceled following the announcement of the company's shutdown.

As for getting a refund, again, in the UK it all comes down to ATOL. If your holiday was protected, you should be able to file a claim via the ATOL scheme.

Now here's where things get a bit tricky.

The CAA says if you booked a holiday with Thomas Cook but your flights are with an airline unrelated to the Thomas Cook Group, your flights may still be available.

"You are advised to check with the airline if you are still able to travel," says the authority's advice.

"If you wish to travel, you can do so and make a claim to ATOL for the cost of replacing your other travel services. You are not obliged to use your flights and can instead claim a refund under the ATOL scheme."

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https://www.cnn.com/uk/live-news/thomas-cook-dle-intl-hnk/index.html

2019-09-23 12:56:00Z
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Tour company Thomas Cook collapses: Live updates - CNN International

Martin Nowell and Pixie Flageul had booked flights with Thomas Cook to Hurghada, Egypt. Sebastian Shukla

Martin Nowell and Pixie Flageul told CNN they opted to try their luck at Gatwick Airport this morning, despite news of Thomas Cook's collapse.

"We thought we would try it until we hit the buffers," said Nowell, explaining that the couple had been due to fly to Hurghada in Egypt.

"We were all packed and ready to go," he added. "Pixie has been looking forward to this for months."

He said the pair had booked their flights through the tour operator, and their hotel through another agency.

"I'm glad we didn’t fly because we could get stuck, and we only have limited means in terms be able to bail ourselves out," Nowell added.

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2019-09-23 11:59:00Z
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Tour company Thomas Cook collapses: Live updates - CNN International

Travelers await information at Menorca Airport in Spain. Fiona Redding

Fiona Redding, who is currently stuck at Menorca Airport awaiting a flight back to Bristol says she found out about Thomas Cook's collapse after reading a newsletter.

“I found out via the Guardian daily news email when I had already gone through security," Redding told CNN.

“I’ve been here since 8am. It’s not clear what’s going on with flights at the moment, the times keep changing (to later and later). I’m flight-only so not protected by ATOL, unfortunately.”

Despite the delay, Redding says her first thoughts go to the Thomas Cook employees.

“I just feel for the employees -- I’ll get home eventually but they won’t have a job to go back to.”

People writing all this vitriolic stuff about Brexit would do well to remember there are real human beings who will be impacted today and beyond.”

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2019-09-23 11:15:00Z
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Tour company Thomas Cook collapses: Live updates - CNN International

The Manchester hangar, where Thomas Cook aircraft were parked. Damian Matthews

Damian Matthews had been working at Thomas Cook as a commercial accountant since July, and told CNN he hasn't been told anything about the company collapse.

“I saw in (the) news, security had been hired to lock down our Manchester hangar where I work and that flights are grounded so didn’t seem any point in going in today,” he said.

He posted photos of the hangar today, tweeting that he felt "so privileged to have worked for Thomas Cook Airlines."

He said the airline had been "viable," but after increased media coverage of the crisis, suppliers withdrew and demanded immediate payments.

"Then consumer confidence was gone, so it felt like the end," he said. “I had hoped it’d be rescued but I worked in banking for a long time previously and knew that was going to be unlikely given banks won’t really want to own an airline and the brand was so damaged.”

Damian Matthews said he was glad he took the photos to remember the hangar by. Damian Matthews

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2019-09-23 10:46:00Z
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Johnson: UK to consider joining US-led military effort in Gulf - Aljazeera.com

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the United Kingdom will consider taking part in a US-led military effort to bolster Saudi Arabia's defences, as he accused Tehran of being behind this month's attacks on two major oil facilities in the kingdom.

The UK had previously held back from attributing blame for the September 14 attacks on the Saudi Aramco plants - responsibility for which was claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have been locked in a war with a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 2015.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have dismissed the Houthis' claim and say Iran was responsible for the attacks, a charge Tehran denies.

The Pentagon announced on Friday it would send additional US troops and missile defence equipment to Saudi Arabia and the UAE as part of a "defensive" deployment. Officials said the number of troops was likely to be in the hundreds. 

"Clearly, if we are asked, either by the Saudis or by the Americans, to have a role then we will consider in what way we could be useful," Johnson told reporters on Sunday on the plane to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Last month, the UK joined a US-led maritime coalition in the Strait of Hormuz, which Washington said was needed to protect shipping routes in the strategic oil transport chokepoint.

He stressed the need for a diplomatic response to the heightened Gulf tensions but said "the UK is attributing responsibility with a very high degree of probability to Iran" for the attacks. 

His comments came hours after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned Western powers to "stay away", urging them to leave the security of the Gulf to regional nations led by Tehran.

Crumbling nuclear deal

Relations between the US and Iran have plummeted since US President Donald Trump in 2018 pulled Washington out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed crippling sanctions as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran.

Trump's unilateral move came despite fierce opposition by the European signatories to the landmark pact, including Britain, which still adhere to it.

At this week's high-level UN gathering, Johnson is due to hold talks with Trump and Rouhani, as well as the leaders of France and Germany, the other two European countries scrambling to save the crumbling nuclear deal. 

Johnson, who became prime minister in July, said he wanted the UK to be "a bridge between our European friends and the Americans when it comes to the crisis in the Gulf".

"We will be working with our American friends and our European friends to construct a response that tries to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf region."

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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2019-09-23 07:48:00Z
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Boris Johnson 'must address conflict of interest claims' - BBC News

Labour has urged Boris Johnson to address claims he failed to declare a potential conflict of interest in how money was given to a US businesswoman while he was London mayor.

The Sunday Times said Jennifer Arcuri, an entrepreneur associated with Mr Johnson, joined trade missions he led and was given £126,000 in public money.

She told the paper this was part of her role as a legitimate businesswoman.

No 10 declined to comment. A government department says it is investigating.

Ms Acuri was quoted by the Sunday Times as saying: "Any grants received by my companies and any trade mission I joined were purely in respect of my role as a legitimate businesswoman."

The BBC has contacted her for comment.

Labour's London mayor Sadiq Khan has told the BBC that he has ordered City Hall officials to look into the allegations.

Mr Khan said: "All I know is what I have seen in the press. These are very serious allegations. At the moment they are just allegations.

"I have asked my chief of staff to ask City Hall officials to look into what process there was during this time, were those processes followed, but also whether there are also any lessons that need to be learned."

The newspaper says she moved back to the US in June 2018, but her latest company won a £100,000 grant intended for "English-based" businesses earlier this year.

The Sunday Times said it had found the registered address on the grant application form is a rented house in the UK and no longer connected to her.

The paper said the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was investigating the award of the grant after the newspaper's inquiries.

The government has now confirmed to the BBC it is investigating. But it highlighted the funds were awarded to a UK-registered company.

A statement from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: "Funding for this scheme was awarded through open and fair competition.

"We regularly monitor grant initiatives and treat any allegations of impropriety with the utmost seriousness."

The Sunday Times claims one of Ms Arcuri's businesses also received £10,000 in sponsorship money from a mayoral organisation when Mr Johnson was in office, and she received a £15,000 government grant for foreign entrepreneurs to build businesses in Britain.

Call for disclosure

Jon Trickett, shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, said Mr Johnson should provide full disclosure on the allegations.

"Boris Johnson must now give a full account of his actions in response to these grave and most serious allegations of the misuse use of public money in his former role as mayor of London," Mr Trickett said in a statement.

"The public has a right to know how and why these funds were used for the benefit of a close personal friend without on the face of it legitimate reason.

"This cannot be swept under the carpet. It is a matter of the integrity of the man now leading our country, who appears to believe he can get away with anything."

Mr Johnson was London mayor between 2008 and 2016.

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2019-09-23 03:48:45Z
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