What to do if you are a

ADVICE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY COLLAPSE OF TRAVEL FIRM

THOMAS Cook has gone bust - leaving holidaymakers stranded and staff out of a job.

The tour operator ceased trading with immediate effect in the early hours of Monday.

Thomas Cook is the world’s oldest travel agent and the news follows years of plunging sales as well as a slowdown in high street bookings.

It’s thought that 20,000 jobs have now been put at risk and all flights from Stansted Airport were cancelled earlier this morning.

It’s estimated that around 150,000 Brits have now been stranded abroad.

Here’s what to do if you have been affected by the chaos.

I’m stranded abroad, what do I do?

If you’re currently on holiday and were due to be flying back with Thomas Cook, don’t panic.

Customers with ATOL protection, which is likely those who booked a package holiday, will be able to carry out the rest of their holiday and fly home.

Those who do not have ATOL protection would normally have to find their own way home, but the Department for Transport has announced that everyone on a Thomas Cook holiday with a return flight to the UK within the two weeks will be brought back home free of charge.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and government will be working closely together to ensure that everyone is brought back home between September 23 and October 6.

After this date, passengers will have to find their own way home.

It’s likely that the flights home will not be on a Thomas Cook plane, but will instead be on existing flights with other airlines.

The CCA has said it will do its best to make returning flights as close as possible to the original return dates and times.

In some cases, passengers may be asked to book their own flights home on existing flights with other airlines and claim the cost back at a later date.

For those who booked a package holiday through Thomas Cook, but the flights are with another airline, these flights will not be affected and you may be able to travel home as planned. However, accommodation and transfers will be affected.

Details of flights home will be available as soon as possible and people are urged to keep checking the CAA website.

I was due to fly with Thomas Cook, what now?

Those who had flights booked in the near future are being told not to turn up to the airport as their flight will not be running.

If your flights are ATOL protected, you can claim for a refund via the ATOL scheme.

If they are not protected, you can make a claim via the scheme, but you may not be able to claim from your travel insurer or your credit card issuer or bank.

If you booked an ATOL protected holiday with the company, but your flights are with an airline unrelated to Thomas Cook, your flights may still be available but your accommodation and transfers may not be.

How do I know if I have ATOL protection?

If your flight or holiday is ATOL protected, you would have received an ATOL certificate as soon as you made any payment towards the booking, either by email or post.

Examples of ATOL certificates can be found on the CAA website.

They are advising travellers to check their booking documents to see if they have one.

Those with package holidays are protected by ATOL and will receive a full refund.

The CAA will be launching a service to manage all refunds on September 30, once the flying operation has progressed.