The debt-ridden tour operator was last night seeking a £200million bail-out from the Government and investors to avoid going into administration. If the 178-year-old travel agent does go under, the Government may have to carry out the largest peacetime repatriation in British history. Around 160,000 UK citizens are currently on Thomas Cook holidays worldwide. The taxpayer may have to foot a £600million bill to bring them home if the ATOL scheme funded by a levy on holidaymakers does not have enough to cover an emergency this size.

The Government and airline regulator the CAA has already drawn up plans, dubbed Operation Matterhorn, to rescue stranded tourists in an operation that could take two weeks.

In total, 600,000 holidaymakers from countries including Germany and Scandinavia could be stranded.

With no rescue plan in sight, some holidaymakers rushed to airports to fly home.

Others feared they would lose longed-for breaks. Wendy Clarke, 50, and her husband Jon paid £700 for return flights with Thomas Cook for a fortnight’s trip to Turkey leaving on Tuesday.

Daughter Paige, 25, is due to join them for the second week.

The accountant, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, said she had been told flights from Bristol will not be affected but added: “I am stressed. It is the not knowing. If they said ‘that’s it,’ we can take alternative flights.”

Elaine Wilson booked a family holiday to Majorca on October 5 but fears she will be left with three “disappointed” sons.

She said: “Thomas Cook has said it’s business as usual and you’re ATOL protected, but the children worry the holiday will be cancelled.”

Lianne Lee Critchley of Blackburn, due to go on holiday with her family today, said last night: “Flights are saying they are on but we have not heard about the accommodation.”

Last night unions and opposition politicians urged the Government to bail out the firm.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said: “All viable options must be explored by Thomas Cook and the Government must consider stepping in and taking an equity stake to avoid this crisis.

“The Government faces a simple choice between a £200million cash injection to save the firm now versus a £600million bill to repatriate UK holidaymakers.”

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, which represents Thomas Cook workers, said the Government should be ready to assist with “real financial support”.

General secretary Manuel Cortes called for an urgent meeting with Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom, saying: “The company must be rescued no matter what. No British government in its right mind would countenance the loss of so many jobs.”

Thomas Cook is fighting for its survival after its lenders threatened to pull the plug on a rescue deal after months of discussion.

READ MORE: THOMAS COOK: TRAVEL GIANT’S DESPERATE BID TO AVOID COLLAPSE

Hurt by debt, online competition and uncertainty over Brexit, the company needs to find extra cash on top of a £900million package already agreed, to see it through the winter months when it needs to pay hotels for their summer services.An insider said the firm was in talks with the Government, but the Department for Transport declined to comment.

Yesterday, Thomas Cook tried to reassure customers, saying its package holidays remained fully protected: “ABTA and the CAA [who manage the ATOL scheme] arrange for customers to be repatriated from overseas when a travel company fails.”

COMMENT BY HARVEY JONES

The troubles afflicting the world’s oldest holiday company Thomas Cook will send a shudder through the rest of the embattled travel industry.

Up to 160,000 holidaymakers face the immediate worry over how to get home, but rival travel firms have longer-term concerns about the viability of their business models.

Thomas Cook was hit by stiff competition from online travel agents and low-cost carriers, and the trend to shun traditional package holidays in favour of DIY breaks.

Last year’s long, hot summer persuaded many Britons to stay at home, while inevitably, management also blamed Brexit for the firm’s troubles, saying uncertainty was leading customers to postpone their trips.

While Thomas Cook made mistakes, the same issues are punishing many rivals too.

Tui has issued two recent profit warnings, which it blamed on last year’s heatwave, the weak pound, and the global grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX aeroplanes, of which it has 15. Its share price is down a third over the past year.

OnThe Beach issued a profit warning in August, blaming the weak pound. Airlines are also struggling, with shares in British Airways owner IAG and Ryanair both down by a quarter.

Brexit certainty and a stable pound would lift demand but as the global economy slows the travel industry will be bracing itself for further headwinds.

Harvey Jones is the Sunday Express Business Expert

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