Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Family ‘gutted’ as travel firm closes
A DEVASTATED couple’s dream honeymoon has been left in tatters following the collapse of travel operator Thomas Cook.
After 19 years together, Vicki Wyllie, 36 and Gordon Breen, 38, are getting married on Saturday at West Park Conference Centre on Perth Road.
They were due to fly out for their honeymoon to Marmaris in Turkey the following Tuesday for 10 nights with Thomas Cook.
But the travel firm announced today it had ceased trading with immediate effect, after failing to secure a rescue deal.
The collapse of the 178-year-old company puts 22,000 jobs at risk worldwide, including 9,000 in the UK. It will also see the biggest ever peacetime repatriation, as the Government flies 150,000 Britons home from their holidays.
Vicki, who lives with Gordon and their son Mason, 10, in Kirkton, said: “We’ve been planning it for the last two years. Its just devastating. We have been so looking forward to it, not just because it’s a holiday, it’s my honeymoon.
“Over the weekend we were hoping it would get saved. This morning when we woke up it was all over the headlines.
“Mason was coming as well, he’s gutted.
“The wedding is still going ahead, that’s the good thing. We are not going to be able to go away, it’s really gutting.”
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in a statement: “Thomas Cook Group has ceased trading with immediate effect.
“All Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled.”
Thomas Cook chief executive Peter Fankhauser said the company had “worked exhaustively” towards a rescue package.
He said: “Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable.”
Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association president Ken McLeod said: “This is a terrible day, not just for the UK travel industry, but on a global scale.
“Our own member agencies up and down the country are working very hard to assist customers who are currently on holiday with Thomas Cook and who have booked to travel in the future.”
Meanwhile, Kathryn Dorward was anxiously waiting to hear whether her holiday to Portugal would still go ahead.
The 52-year-old, from St Andrews, was due to stay at the Eden Resort in Albufeira from October 7.
She said she was “in the dark” about the trip but had hoped to speak to staff at the firm’s shop on City Square this morning.