Passengers’ whip-round for Thomas Cook staff
THOMAS Cook cabin crew were moved to tears after a Welsh mum organised a whip-round on their final flight.
When one mum from Pontypridd learned the air hostesses helping to get them home from Turkey were working for free after the firm collapsed, she decided to do something about it.
Elaine Kerslake, from Glyncoch, decided to help out the cabin crew, who had not long learned they’d lost their jobs, and organised a whipround raising more than £700.
The plight of the workers who lost their jobs stands in stark contrast to the millions of pounds made in payment to the travel giant’s bosses before the firm collapsed – with public anger growing over the payouts to top executives yesterday.
Meanwhile, video from the flight from Dalaman, Turkey, to Cardiff Airport yesterday morning shows Elaine making a speech to the rest of the passengers, followed by a very emotional speech from one of the cabin crew.
Elaine said: “We got on the plane and we found out that the air hostesses were working for free to get us all home.
“So I said, ‘I’m going to start a whipround.’ I thought it’s not fair on these girls. I went around and raised over £700.”
After Elaine spoke to the rest of the passengers, one of the cabin crew took the microphone and gave an emotional thank you.
The air hostess could be heard saying: “Thank you so much. We are so happy to be here. We hope you did enjoy your last Thomas Cook airlines flight with us. Thank you.”
As reported in yesterday’s paper, the group entered compulsory liquidation on Monday morning, following failed in efforts to secure a rescue deal over the weekend.
A huge repatriation is now underway, and the firm’s collapse is expected to leave around 9,000 people without jobs.
Elaine said: “The air hostess who made that speech, she was heartbroken. We were all heartbroken on that plane.
“There was even men crying on the plane. As we were getting off the back of the plane, the two air hostesses were sobbing uncontrollably.”
Anger grew yesterday as it emerged top executives shared more than £16m between them in pay and perks over the past five years while the group’s profits have been in sharp decline.
Chief executive Peter Fankhauser and his predecessor Harriet Green were paid £9.4m between them over the past five years.
Thomas Cook’s chief financial officers – Bill Scott and Michael Healy – bagged more than £7m in total.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson questioned whether senior managers should pay themselves “large sums of money” as their businesses go “down the tubes”.
Speaking in New York after the launch of the massive repatriation operation part-funded by the UK Government, he said: “I have questions for one about whether it’s right that the directors, or whoever, the board, should pay themselves large sums when businesses can go down the tubes like that.”
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launched the UK’s largest peacetime repatriation on Monday, bringing 14,700 Thomas Cook customers home on 64 flights.
That was 95% of the holidaymakers who were originally booked to fly home on that day.
Around 16,800 were due home on 74 flights yesterday, and a further 118,000 passengers are expected to be brought back on rescue flights over the next 12 days.
The operation is expected to cost approximately £100m.
Dame Deirdre Hutton, who chairs the CAA, said around 60% of passengers were protected through the Atol scheme.
That means the fund built up from Atol contributions will cover the same percentage of the total bill, leaving taxpayers to make up the remaining 40%.
Asked about reports of hoteliers demanding holidaymakers pay again for their stay, Dame Deirdre said every hotel with an Atol-protected customer has been sent a letter guaranteeing that they will be paid.
She acknowledged “there is some confusion in hotels”.
The collapse of Thomas Cook left around one million people with future bookings scrambling to make alternative arrangements, with some accusing rival travel firms of unfairly hiking prices.
David Kirkwood posted screenshots on social media appearing to show how a Jet2.com holiday in Cyprus increased in cost by £800 between 7.30am and 11.30am on Monday.
He described the firm as “soulless”, “money grabbing” and “opportunist”.
A spokeswoman for the company said its pricing is “based on the principle of supply and demand”, adding that it is hoping to increase its flight capacity to help customers.
Thomas Cook customers are being urged to check thomascook.caa.co.uk for further information.