Thomas Cook Germany cancels all trips for 2020

Hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers have had their trips canceled due to the company’s insolvency. The company’s insurance policy has already blown its limit, so customers will struggle to be fully compensated.

The German subsidiary of failed travel giant Thomas Cook has canceled all trips booked from 2020, it announced on Tuesday.

The cancellations come as part of an insolvency process as no buyer could be found for the group.

In addition to the Thomas Cook brand, Neckermann Reisen, Öger Tours, Bucher Reisen and Air Marin, as well as the Swiss company Thomas Cook International are also affected.

There were concrete investor offers for Bucher Reisen and Öger Tours, but the trips could not be carried out.

‘Infinitely sorry’

Managing Director Stefanie Berk said the company was “infinitely sorry.”

Hundreds of thousands of Thomas Cook customers in Germany are affected by the cancellations.

They are entitled to compensation, but the exact amount has yet to be decided, according to a spokesman for the insurer Zurich Germany. However, any payouts will be unlikely to cover the full costs paid by customers as the business was only insured for €110 million ($121 million).

According to the insurer, by November 1, about 150,000 claims had already been received, totaling more than €250 million. This does not include the cost of repatriating holidaymakers who were on the road with German Thomas Cook at the time of the insolvency.

The insolvency has also triggered a political debate about stronger safety nets to better protect package holidaymakers from the costs of cancelled trips.

Source: dw.com