Airlines swoop on Thomas Cook’s landing slots

JET2.COM and EasyJet have bought all of collapsed tour operator Thomas Cook’s landing slots at in the UK, the company’s liquidators have said.

EasyJet snapped up 27 pairs of slots, at Gatwick and Bristol Airports, for £36m.

Rival budget airline Jet2.com bought the remaining slots at Stansted, Birmingham and Manchester Airports, for an undisclosed amount, the Official Receiver said.

EasyJet said it will release more information later this month.

“This outcome has been facilitated by the collaborative approach of

Thomas Cook’s commercial partners at UK airports and the support of both internal and external slot coordinators,” the Official Receiver said.

It comes less than two months since Thomas Cook entered administration.

Last month Tui launched 30,000 seats for summer 2020 from Cardiff Airport.

At the time Spencer Birns, chief commercial officer at Cardiff Airport, said: “We want to thank Tui for recognising the opportunity to add an extra 15,000 holidays from Cardiff next summer. The news demonstrates

Tui’s commitment to delivering even more choice for Welsh customers in addition to this year’s passenger growth at our national airport.”

Administrators for Thomas Cook have been trying to recoup as much money as possible from the business to help pay back its debts.

Earlier this month, they sold off the Thomas Cook brand name to Chinese company Fosun for £11m. Fosun said it still believes in the brand value of Thomas Cook.

And in October, Sunderlandbased Hays Travel paid £6m to buy Thomas Cook’s 555 high-street stores, promising to keep many of the jobs.

The collapse has caused politicians to call for changes.

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom pledged to take action to help customers who face losing out on injury compensation claims.

“Thomas Cook only took out insurance cover for the very largest personal injury claims,” she said on Tuesday.

“For agreed claims below this figure up to a high-aggregate amount, they decided to self-insure through a provision in their accounts.”