Wedding plans in peril as islanders hit by Thomas Cook collapse

Monday 23 September 2019

The wedding plans of two Jersey brides-to-be – one of whom was due to jet set on her honeymoon next week – are in peril following the collapse of Thomas Cook.

They’re among hundreds of islanders to have been hit by news of the travel firm’s collapse.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced in the early hours of this morning that the 178-year-old holiday operator had fallen after last-ditch rescue talks failed, putting 22,000 jobs around the world at risk and 9,000 in the UK.

Mass repatriations are now underway for those currently abroad through trips booked with the £1.6billion debt-hit travel company, while thousands of people have had their future holidays cancelled.

Thomas Cook Group, including the UK tour operator and airline, has ceased trading with immediate effect.

All #ThomasCook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled.

Visit: https://t.co/g4G2b6RlHc pic.twitter.com/BxJMv5Yaw1

— UK Civil Aviation Authority (@UK_CAA) September 23, 2019

Passengers from Jersey and Guernsey are among those affected – dozens of whom have taken to social media to express their “heartbreak”, “disappointment” and frustration upon learning the news.

Christina, who says she is currently “in the middle of planning” her wedding to partner Sean in Turkey in May next year through Thomas Cook, was one of them.

“We had booked our package holiday with Thomas Cook and was also getting married in the hotel we are supposed to be staying with,” she told Express.

Although this morning’s news has thrown that plan into some doubt, she remains hopeful: “I have contacted the hotel to see if it was possible to keep our booking with them, so fingers crossed.”

Heather Amy, mother of another bride-to-be, said her daughter’s honeymoon plans were also in jeopardy following Thomas Cook’s folding.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority and Government are organising new flights home for #ThomasCook passengers.

More information on these repatriation flights is available on our dedicated website: https://t.co/g4G2b6RlHc. pic.twitter.com/iXiEZBrvin

— UK Civil Aviation Authority (@UK_CAA) September 23, 2019

“She’s getting married in UK as she lives UK this Saturday, so I’m out the island as I’m giving her away. She was coming back with me to Jersey for four days of her honeymoon, then Friday she was going to Rome for four days. This would have been their first holiday abroad, so as well as the wedding stress she has this to deal with,” she said.

Islander Natalie Hodge, however, had a rather different take on the dramatic turn of events for the airline.

Having used Thomas Cook to fly to Ibiza with her boyfriend over the weekend, her route back is currently in the hands of the CAA – but she says that she wouldn’t mind extending her holiday a little as a result.

“I had heard on the news end of last week that Thomas Cook were needing to raise £200m to stay in business just before our holiday. We flew out 5:00 on Sunday and at this point they were looking to the government to help so to be honest we weren’t too bothered as long as we at least got here!” she explained.

Pictured: The poolside view of Natalie, who says she's "happy to stay and enjoy the sunshine" if Thomas Cook's collapse means she is delayed getting home.

“We saw on the news this morning in the hotel that they had collapsed and thankfully we booked the hotel separately, as I’ve seen some people are having problems as they had also booked everything through Thomas Cook. As we don’t fly back until Wednesday, we aren’t too worried and just carrying on our holiday and waiting to see what CAA organise to get us back.

“If we have to stay a bit longer it thankfully doesn’t affect either of us and I’m happy to stay and enjoy the sunshine!”

Thomas Cook needed £200million to be able to stay afloat, but was unable to secure a deal following a round of talks with creditors and the key shareholder yesterday.

As a result, all flights and bookings were cancelled with immediate effect.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has now launched what’s been dubbed Britain’s “largest peacetime repatriation” to ensure no passengers are left stranded.

A dedicated website has been set up for affected passengers, which you can access by clicking here.