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.”
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
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."
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.
Thomas Cook's main shareholder appears to have decided that enough is enough
3/3 SLIDES
Thomas Cook's 178-year existence was hanging by a thread on Sunday after the iconic British travel firm struggled to find further private investment and is now relying on an unlikely government bailout.
Load Error
The operator said Friday that it needed £200 million ($250 million) -- in addition to the £900-million rescue deal secured last month -- or else face administration, which could leave thousands of holidaymakers stranded and require Britain's largest repatriation since World War II.
A source close to the negotiations told AFP on Saturday that the company had failed to find the £200 million from private investors and would collapse unless the government intervened.
But ministers are unlikely to step in due to worries about the pioneering operator's longer-term viability, the Times reported on Saturday, leaving it on the brink of collapse and stranding up to 150,000 British holidaymakers abroad.
"We will know by tomorrow (Sunday) if agreement is reached," the source told AFP.
Conservative Party minister Brandon Lewis told Sky News on Sunday that it would be "inappropriate" for him to comment on the negotiations, but said that he hoped "they come to a positive conclusion".
The firm's shareholders and creditors were to meet from 9 am (0800 GMT) on Sunday, with a meeting of the board of directors due to be held in the afternoon.
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association, which represents workers at the company, called on the government to rescue the firm.
"It is incumbent upon the government to act if required and save this iconic cornerstone of the British high street and the thousands of jobs that go with it," said TSSA General Secretary, Manuel Cortes.
"The company must be rescued no matter what."
Two years ago, the collapse of Monarch Airlines prompted the British government to take emergency action to return 110,000 stranded passengers, costing taxpayers some £60 million on hiring planes.
The government at the time described it as Britain's "biggest-ever peacetime repatriation".
- Jobs threatened -
Thousands of workers could also lose their jobs, with the company employing about 22,000 staff worldwide, including 9,000 in Britain.
Chinese peer Fosun, which was already the biggest shareholder in Thomas Cook, agreed last month to inject £450 million into the business.
In return, the Hong Kong-listed conglomerate acquired a 75 percent stake in Thomas Cook's tour operating division and 25 percent of its airline unit.
Thomas Cook in May revealed that first-half losses widened on a major write-down, caused in part by Brexit uncertainty that delayed summer holiday bookings. The group, which has around 600 stores across the UK, has also come under pressure from fierce online competition.
Cabinet maker Thomas Cook created the travel firm in 1841 to carry temperance supporters by train between British cities.
It soon began arranging foreign trips, being the first operator to take British travellers on escorted visits to Europe in 1855, to the United States in 1866 and on a round-the-world trips in 1872.
The company was also a pioneer in introducing "circular note" -- products that would later become traveller's cheques.
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has said the UK and EU share a "common purpose" in reaching a new withdrawal deal, after a meeting in Brussels with chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier.
He said they had had "serious detailed discussions" and things were "moving forward with momentum".
Mr Barnier said it had been a "cordial" meeting, but "lots of work has to be done in the next few days".
The deadline for the UK to exit the EU is 31 October.
On Thursday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said a new Brexit deal could still be reached by then.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said some "progress" was being made, although it was important not to "exaggerate" this.
But Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told the BBC on Friday that there was a "wide gap" between the UK and the EU, with Brussels "still waiting for serious proposals" from London.
And a leaked memo from the European Commission said the UK had confirmed its proposals for replacing the Irish backstop "do not amount to legally operational solutions and would have to be developed during the transitional period".
The memo also said the UK's proposals did not avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, or preserve the integrity of the single market.
However, a UK government source insisted their proposals were "serious and workable" and would avoid a hard border.
"As for the Commission, two months ago they said we couldn't reopen the withdrawal agreement and there was absolutely no alternative to the backstop - now we are having detailed discussions.
"Leaks from Brussels on Twitter are par for the course, you can set your watch by them.
"What we're focused on is actually getting a deal in the room - we trust they'll do the same."
The backstop - the policy aimed at preventing the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit - has proved the biggest point of contention in EU-UK talks so far,
It was a major sticking point in former Prime Minister Theresa May's attempts to get Parliament to back her withdrawal agreement, which was rejected three times by MPs.
Enough oomph for a breakthrough?
Amid the white noise of Brexit, there has only ever been one question that really matters: is there any sign that things might be about to change?
Meetings get excitedly talked up in advance (I plead guilty). Anodyne statements follow shortly afterwards.
In short, the EU says the UK has not yet provided enough detail on a plan to replace the so-called backstop, to keep the border on the island of Ireland open under all circumstances.
The UK says it is dreaming up all sorts of ideas.
So what happens next? New York. A shindig at the United Nations next week - and with it the chance for the prime minister to have one-on-one chats with the likes of President Macron of France and Chancellor Merkel of Germany.
Could they provide the oomph needed to knock together a deal?
It still looks less likely than likely, but who knows?
Mr Johnson, who has said he wants to leave the EU - preferably with a deal - by 31 October, has urged the EU to scrap the backstop.
But the EU has asked for detailed alternative proposals.
Following the latest meeting, which overran, Mr Barclay said: "There's a common purpose in Dublin, in London and here in Brussels to see a deal over the line."
He added that the two sides had been "getting into the detail" and that more "technical" discussions would happen next week.
Mr Johnson and European Council President Donald Tusk are also expected to hold talks when the United Nations General Assembly takes place in New York next week.
Mr Barclay said this "underscores the purpose there is on both sides to get a deal and that is what we are working very hard to secure".
Media playback is unsupported on your device
He added that "a clear message has been given both by President Juncker and the prime minister" and both sides were "working hard".
Also speaking after the meeting, Mr Barnier said he was not optimistic or pessimistic but "still determined".
"Brexit is a school of patience but we are still ready to reach an agreement," he said.
He said that any proposal from the UK to replace the backstop "must reach all the objectives of the backstop".
These were to "protect the peace in Ireland, to protect the all=Ireland economy, and also to protect the consumers and the businesses of the EU and the single market", Mr Barnier said.
The prime minister has said the UK needs to leave in a way that allows it to "do things differently" and "not remain under the control of the EU in terms of laws and trade policy".
But he also reiterated the need to ensure no hard border returned to Northern Ireland, and the Good Friday Agreement - which helped bring an end to the Troubles - was protected.
This happened after Finland's prime minister said Mr Johnson had 12 days to set out his Brexit plans to the EU - although a government source said the development was not in response to those remarks.
Thursday saw the final day of the legal battle over Mr Johnson's decision to prorogue - suspend - Parliament at the UK's Supreme Court.
Its president, Lady Hale, promised a decision early next week.
