THOMAS COOK Insolvency

The news recently published in the press regarding the bankruptcy of THOMAS COOK GROUP is giving rise to a feeling of bewilderment among tour operators because, in addition to the publication of somewhat contradictory information in the specialized and general press, there is the fact that the event is still very recent and is in constant evolution. On Monday, September 23, the sector woke up to the news of the bankruptcy of THOMAS COOK GROUP, PLC, the largest tour operator in the United Kingdom and the second largest in the world, which, according to verified information, left some 600,000 travelers worldwide, 150,000 of whom are British passengers, stranded. The Group owned 105 aircraft, owned 200 resorts operating under its brand and sold package tours to customers around the world. To date, 51 tourist destinations in 16 countries in which the tour operator was operating are affected. As of today, it is stated on the THOMAS COOK GROUP website https://www.thomascookgroup.com/ that the company, with the agreement of the Management, has entered into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect as of September 23rd. However, the collapse of THOMAS COOK GROUP does not mean the automatic bankruptcy of all the companies in which the Group has holdings. For example, even if Thomas Cook is the 100% owner of Norwegian Ving, the shares of the former will probably be transferred to creditors who can guarantee the survival of the Scandinavian group. The same group, Thomas Cook Northern Europe (Vinggruppen), includes different hotels of the brands Sunwing Family Resorts, Ocean Beach Club and Sunprime Hotels, which, although at first were considered bankrupt, in recent information, it has been declared that they are not. The same is happening with some companies that, although belonging to the Group, their main activity is not related to tourism, and to all this bombardment of information, which can sometimes be contradictory, there are others that refer to the ATOL coverage, managed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). ATOL (Air Travel Organisers Licensing) coverage is a UK financial protection system that ensures that all travelers who purchase package tours and/or flights there have their trips guaranteed against unforeseen air travel events.However, the ATOL coverage, which is activated at the moment in which the bankruptcy is declared, only covers and guarantees the repatriation and stay of those travelers who at the moment in which the failure occurs were at their destination and it does so during the maximum time period that the bankrupt company designed its tourist packages, in this case, 14 days and, therefore, the ATOL coverage will only cover repatriations and stays until October 6 of the present.Thus, from Tourism & Law Abogados, we are very aware of the information that is published through official agencies and working with various industry associations so that tourism entrepreneurs are advised and know at all times the real scope of the situation and, thus, to minimize the consequences of the impact of the same.

José Luis Valencia (Lawyer T&L)