Thomas Cook at risk of leaving 150,000 holidaymakers stranded as they search for £200 million to avoid collapse

20 September 2019, 10:57 | Updated: 20 September 2019, 11:02

By Alice Dear

Travel brand Thomas Cook is at risk of going under, unless they can find rescue.

Thomas Cook is at risk of leaving 150,000 holidaymakers stranded on their holidays as they teeter on the edge of going under.

Unless they can seal a rescue, Thomas Cook could collapse as soon as Sunday according to company insiders.

The firm – which has been going for 178 years – would leave 9,000 British staff unemployed, and 21,000 worldwide.

This isn’t to mention the thousands of people that would be left stranded on their holidays.

The BBC have reported that sources have confirmed the Civil Aviation Authority is on standby with a plan called Operation Mattherhorn to bring holidaymakers home.

The cost of this operation could potentially cost £600million.

A source told The Sun: “Around 20,000 staff worldwide will lose their jobs and it will have a knock on effect to travel agents worldwide as cruises will also be affected as they may also lose their licence.

"Several thousand passengers on cruises may also have holidays cut short, stopped part way through holidays and needing assistance in returning."

People with Thomas Cook holidays booked have been frantically looking for answers online ever since the news hit headlines.

The source has said that those Thomas Cook flights which have not left the runway by midnight on Sunday will stay grounded.