Travel giant Thomas Cook has ceased trading after failing to secure a last-ditch rescue deal, leaving an estimated 150,000 Britons abroad awaiting repatriation.

The company was unable to secure the extra £200 million needed to keep the business afloat following a full day of crucial talks with the major shareholder and creditors on Sunday.

Richard Moriarty, the chief executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said the Government had asked his organisation to launch “the UK’s largest ever peacetime repatriation”.

In a statement, the CAA said: “Thomas Cook Group, including the UK tour operator and airline, has ceased trading with immediate effect.

“All Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled.”

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Thomas Cook’s chief executive Peter Fankhauser said his company had “worked exhaustively” to salvage a rescue package.

“Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable,” he added.

“It is a matter of profound regret to me and the rest of the board that we were not successful.

“I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years.

“This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to help holidaymakers stranded by the firm’s closure, as he questioned whether bosses are not incentivised to prevent their business’s demise.

Mr Johnson told reporters on board the RAF Voyager travelling to New York for the United Nations General Assembly that his thoughts were with customers.

He said: “It’s a very difficult situation and obviously our thoughts are very much with the customers with Thomas Cook, the holiday makers, who may now face difficulties getting home.”

“One way or the other the state will have to step in quite rightly to help stranded holidaymakers.”

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said dozens of charter planes, from as far afield as Malaysia, had been hired to fly customers home free of charge and hundreds of people were working in call centres and at airports.

Mr Shapps said: “Thomas Cook’s collapse is very sad news for staff and holidaymakers.

“The Government and UK CAA is working round the clock to help people.

“But the task is enormous, the biggest peacetime repatriation in UK history. So there are bound to be problems and delays.

“Please try to be understanding with the staff who are trying to assist in what is likely to be a very difficult time for them as well.”

The CAA’s dedicated website for the firm’s customers, thomascook.caa.co.uk, crashed shortly after the announcement.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said all customers currently abroad with Thomas Cook who are booked to return to the UK over the next two weeks will be brought home as close as possible to their booked return date.

Thomas Cook package holiday customers will also see the cost of their accommodation covered by the Government, through the Air Travel Trust Fund or Atol scheme, the DfT said.

Unions representing Thomas Cook staff, of which there are 9,000 across the group in the UK, had previously urged the Government to intervene financially.

A million customers will also lose their future bookings, although with most package holidays and some flights-only trips being protected by the Atol scheme, customers who have not yet left home will be given a refund or replacement holiday.

For those on holiday, the scheme will make sure they can finish their holiday and return home.

One of the world’s oldest and largest travel companies, the firm had been trading for 178 years – having been established in 1841 by a cabinet maker who organised a day trip for temperance movement supporters.

According to its website, as of this year the group employed 21,000 people in 16 countries, operated 105 aircraft and 200 own-brand hotels and resorts.

Travellers ‘absolutely devastated’ but feel for Thomas Cook staff

Travellers have said they are “absolutely devastated” at the closure of Thomas Cook but have expressed support for the travel operator’s staff.

The tourism giant announced early on Monday that it had ceased trading after failing to secure a last-ditch rescue deal, leaving an estimated 150,000 Britons abroad awaiting repatriation.

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Nicole from Swansea, who did not wish to give her surname, said she was “absolutely devastated” at the closure of the firm she had booked with, which came before her “very first holiday”.

“And now we have the stress of trying to fix this and sort it all out,” she added.

“I am truly gutted, but also devastated for the people who are stranded on their holidays and for the employees who have lost their jobs with no warning, and this close to Christmas.

“It’s such a shame.”

Lucy Jessop from Hull has been holidaying in Mexico for two weeks and said she had been set to fly to Manchester with Thomas Cook on Tuesday.

She said she was “initially worried” after hearing about the company’s closure but the Government had been “amazing” in organising an alternative flight.

Ms Jessop said: “It’s the employees of Thomas Cook and all those due to go on holiday I feel for.

“We were the lucky ones, I suppose.”

One of those considering herself unlucky was an 18-year-old English woman whose single mother worked for Thomas Cook for almost 20 years.

The teenager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said her mother had “known her job was vulnerable for the past few days but only found out she is unemployed when the news came out that Thomas Cook is over”.

She added that she was the eldest of three daughters, the youngest of whom is 10-years-old, and the now the only person in her home with a job.

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“I have a part-time job with around 15 hours a week so the next few months will be a huge struggle for us.

“Especially since it’s Christmas soon.”

Danielle, who was due to fly from Manchester to Menorca at 6.40am, said she found out about the company’s shuttering online.

“We heard our holiday was cancelled from Twitter and then the news 20 minutes before we left for the airport,” she tweeted.

“We only booked the holiday on the 19th August.

“We are absolutely gutted.”

What happens now that Thomas Cook has collapsed?

The worst fears about the future of Thomas Cook have been confirmed as the firm collapsed into compulsory liquidation. Here the PA news agency looks at some of the key questions for its customers.

– How many people are affected?

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said there are currently more than 150,000 British customers on Thomas Cook holidays abroad – nearly twice the number that were repatriated after the collapse of Monarch in 2017. An estimated million more have lost their future bookings.

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– What will happen to customers already on holiday?

The CAA said the Government has asked it to launch a repatriation programme over the next two weeks, starting on Monday and running to Sunday 6 October.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said all customers currently abroad with Thomas Cook who are booked to return to the UK over the next two weeks will be brought home as close as possible to their booked return date.

Thomas Cook package holiday customers will also see the cost of their accommodation covered by the Government, through the Air Travel Trust Fund or Atol scheme.

Customers currently overseas should not travel to the airport until their flight back to the UK has been confirmed on the dedicated website thomascook.caa.co.uk

– What about those who have bookings and are yet to travel?

All bookings have been cancelled and, according to the CAA, Thomas Cook customers in the UK who have yet to travel should not go to the airport as all flights leaving the UK have been grounded.

– Who will pay for this?

When Monarch Airlines went bust in October 2017, the Government spent £60 million hiring planes to get passengers home. A figure has not been given but bringing back Thomas Cook passengers will likely cost more than this.

– What is the Atol scheme?

Atol provides protection to holidaymakers when travel firms collapse.

– What type of bookings are protected?

The scheme protects most trips booked as a package, such as flights and accommodation, or flights and car hire. It also applies to some flight-only bookings, particularly when the tickets are not received immediately.

– What protection does it offer?

If a business collapses while you are on holiday, the scheme will make sure you can finish your holiday and return home.

Customers who have not yet left home will be given a refund or replacement holiday.

– What can I do if my trip is not Atol protected?

Under normal circumstances, passengers who are not ATOL protected would be asked to find, and pay for, their own way home.

Holidaymakers can usually apply to their credit or debit card provider to be reimbursed. Not all travel insurance policies provide coverage when a firm collapses.

But in this case, the DfT said everyone on a Thomas Cook holiday with a return flight to the UK within the two weeks will be brought home free of charge, whether they are Atol protected or not and regardless of their nationality.

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– What will happen to Thomas Cook shops?

Thomas Cook has around 600 stores on UK high streets which are expected to close. Thomas Cook Group employs around 21,000 people in 16 countries.

– What about the airlines?

All flights have been cancelled, according to the CAA. Those based in the UK, Scandinavia and the Balearics carry the group’s name, while their German sister company is named Condor.