Holiday giant Thomas Cook has ceased trading after 178 years of operation.
The company on Friday acknowledged a request from its lenders to raise an additional £200 million necessary to secure a rescue deal, led by its largest shareholder.
But after a crunch meeting over the weekend, the CAA confirmed the company’s failure at around 2am today (23 September).
The CAA says more than 150,000 UK holidaymakers are currently abroad with the operator.
The collapse of the group includes both the UK tour operator and the airline.
All Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled.
The government has asked the CAA to launch a repatriation programme over the next two weeks, from Monday 23 September to Sunday 6 October, to bring Thomas Cook customers back to the UK.
The CAA added “due to the unprecedented number of UK customers currently overseas who are affected by the situation”, it had secured a fleet of aircraft from around the world to bring passengers back to the UK with return flights.
Passengers in a small number of destinations may return on alternative commercial flights, rather than directly through the CAA’s flying programme. Details and advice for these passengers are available on the dedicated website.
Thomas Cook customers in the UK yet to travel should not go to the airport as all flights leaving the UK have been cancelled.
