Chaos has gripped Europe after the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Thomas Cook, one of the world’s oldest and most prominent travel groups, shockingly collapsed on September 23, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded in foreign lands. Passengers have reported finding out midair that their connecting flight was cancelled, leaving many stuck with no accommodation and sleeping in airports. Scenes of chaos, like the one below, erupted at many European airports.
Chaos at LPA. Have had to combine with passengers to Manchester. Will we all get on?#ThomasCook pic.twitter.com/iKWTXQ6ARj
— Derek Eaves (@EavesDerek) September 23, 2019
The sheer number of passengers stranded has lead to the UK government heading up the largest repatriation of citizens since World War II. It has involved dozens of different airlines and the cost is expected to run into the millions.
The UK government will foot the bill for the flights, ironically after refusing to prop the company up with $250 million. As of Monday, the government had run 64 flights and brought back around 15,000 people. This is a mere 8% of the total number that will need to be returned.
It is unclear when the rest will be returned home.
Thomas Cook collapse leaves hundreds of thousands stranded, sparking Britain’s largest repatriation effort since World War II https://t.co/Pz6OKd1o0Q pic.twitter.com/xvir8tVWyw
— FP Personal Finance (@FPpersonal_fin) September 23, 2019
Adding to the chaos are reports that other airlines have since jacked up their prices, leaving customers angry and bewildered at having to pay thousands more dollars than they had anticipated.
Some passengers are reporting an increase of four times the original travel costs, with many demanding answers to why the sudden increase. Costs shown below give you an idea of just how much customers are being charged.
What do you think? Should it be the responsibility of the government to bring people home? Should other airlines be allowed to raise prices on people who are stuck in other countries?
