Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they took steps, in the light of the collapse of Monarch Airlines and the expenditure of public funds in repatriating travellers, to ensure that public funds will not be irrecoverably spent in repatriating customers of Thomas Cook; and if so, what steps.

The failure of Thomas Cook is one of the largest travel company failures we have ever seen. A failure of this size, and the number of passengers affected, is unprecedented. In these circumstances, it is right that the Government should step in and help affected passengers return home as smoothly as possible. We are seeking to minimise the impact on the Government and taxpayers by recovering costs where appropriate through the ATOL scheme, credit card companies and travel insurance.

The majority of Thomas Cook passengers are ATOL protected and the costs for repatriating those passengers will be covered by the ATOL scheme.

An independent Airline Insolvency Review, chaired by Peter Bucks concluded earlier this year and the Government published the final report on 9 May 2019. The Review also acknowledged there was no “silver bullet or one-size-fits-all” solution, to ensure consumer protection in the event of airline insolvency. The recommendations are complex and represent an evolutionary, incremental policy approach over many years that takes into account an expected implementation period. The Government is actively considering the recommendations of the review and is committed to taking steps accordingly.