Thomas Cook Germany: A big disaster now extended | Buzz travel

The Thomas Cook bankruptcy in the UK initiated a tsunami across the world. There was a lot more to Thomas Cook than one company. Thomas Cook India, operating also in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, is doing well, but are in a state of panic due to the name affiliation with the British company. On the heels of that is  Thomas Cook Germany.

The second-largest market for Thomas Cook was Germany with Thomas Cook GmbH, a German-based company, also operating legendary tour operator Neckermann which first stopped all travel arrangements until October.

It was expected the company would resume normal operation in November. This idea was eliminated today according to Stefanie Berk speaking for Neckerman and Thomas Cook Germany at their headquarters in Oberursel close to Frankfurt. Thomas Cook now confirmed all travel packages are canceled until the end of the year. Berk said the company was working hard to be operational again on December 1 and to be able to offer new travel packages starting the beginning of 2020.

Canceled are arrangements by Thomas Cook Signature, Thomas Cook Signature Finest Selection, Neckermann Reisen, Öger Tours, Bucher Reisen, and Air Marin, as well as trips booked by Thomas Cook International.

Experts think this may be an indication of an indirect declaration of a complete bankruptcy of the German company. Smiling all the way to the bank is the largest competitor of Thomas Cook, TUI in Hannover, Germany.

The airline flying for Thomas Cook and Neckermann in Germany is Condor. Condor is operating normally until now.

Those that paid for their canceled travel packages already may not get all their money back. Insurance giant Zurich Germany has been providing an insurance policy for 110 million euro. It’s now estimated this amount is not even close to what is needed to refund everyone who thought their trip and their money was protected.

660,000 German travelers had invested their holiday money in one of the bankrupt companies and have to look elsewhere to take their dream vacation.

All 140,000 German guests returned to Germany after the company closed operation. 2,000 Germans were working for the companies involved.

Investors are currently evaluating a take over on what is left and according to experts, it’s looking good.

Condor Airlines applied for a government-backed loan and so did Thomas Cook Germany.

There is no decision yet, but to keep Condor flying, the German State of Hessen and the Federal Government decided on a 380 million euro loan to assure operation,