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Today in History: Thomas Cook collapses, 600,000 travelers stranded worldwide

By Drooid · Sep 23, 2026, 10:32 AM UTC · How we work

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On 23 September 2019, the UK-based Thomas Cook Group entered compulsory liquidation, halting all tours, flights and agency services. The collapse left roughly 21,000 staff unemployed and stranded about 600,000 holidaymakers worldwide, prompting the largest peacetime repatriation in British history and sparking a coordinated government rescue operation.

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Story summary

On 23 September 2019, the UK-based Thomas Cook Group entered compulsory liquidation, halting all tours, flights and agency services. The collapse left roughly 21,000 staff unemployed and stranded about 600,000 holidaymakers worldwide, prompting the largest peacetime repatriation in British history and sparking a coordinated government rescue operation.