Thomas Cook: UK will try to recoup £100m repatriation bill from companies
The government will go to credit and debit card companies as well as travel insurers for money in the coming weeks, in a bid to recoup the cost of repatriating tens of thousands of stranded Thomas Cook customers after the firm went bust on Monday.
Giving an update in the Commons, transport secretary Grant Schapps said: “We have entered into discussions with third parties with a view to recovering some of the costs of this large operation.
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About 60 per cent of passengers needing to be repatriated were covered by the Air Travel Operators License (Atol) scheme, while taxpayers are footing the bill for bringing back the remaining 40 per cent – around 62,000 people.
This leaves the repatriation bill for the taxpayer at about £100m.
“We will look to recover some of the cost from relevant credit and debit card providers and from travel insurers.
“We are also in discussions with the official receiver to understand what costs can be recouped through the company’s assets as well.”
He also said new laws would be needed to ensure travel firms could be wound up in a less chaotic fashion in future.
Ministers ordered a review of airline insolvency rules after the collapse of Monarch Airlines in 2017. But that was not completed until March this year and was published in May.
Led by Peter Bucks, a former senior adviser to energy regulator Ofgem, recommended insolvent airlines “continue flight operations for a short period” to get passengers home.
Schapps said this afternoon the government would “get on” with changing the law, but said he had only been in post since July.
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The gap between Monarch going bust in 2017 and the review being published in 2019 was during the tenure of Schapps’ predecessor, Chris Grayling.
Schapps added: “It will require primary legislation and – dare I say – a new session of Parliament.”
(Main image credit: Parliament TV)