Thomas Cook

About Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook, the oldest travel brand in the world, collapsed on September 23, 2019. Founded in 1841, Thomas Cook had 21,000 employees and served 19 million customers annually. The company struggled with debt from acquisitions and competition from online travel sites. CEO Peter Fankhauser blamed political uncertainty and extreme summer weather. The collapse stranded 150,000 British tourists abroad, triggering Operation Matterhorn, the largest peacetime repatriation in UK history. The government chartered 50 aircraft to bring tourists home. Thomas Cook had 9 billion in debt. Shareholders lost everything. The brand was revived in 2020 as an online travel agency by Fosun Tourism Group, which had acquired the brand in bankruptcy. The collapse ended 178 years of travel history.