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Agents jump into action to deal with Thomas Cook collapse
Agents are snapping into action to assist their customers affected by the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Advantage Travel Partnership says it has implemented its comprehensive Operator Failure Plan to assist members.
A 24/7 hotline has been opened for agents to contact Advantage for support and advice.
It has created an easily accessible page on its extranet to host information shared by Thomas Cook, ABTA and CAA which all Advantage members will be able to view, and alerts will be sent to members via email and social media to notify them of any updates.
"We were deeply saddened to hear the news that Thomas Cook will no longer be part of the travel industry as it was the pioneer of tour operator travel. Our thoughts go out to the thousands of Thomas Cook employees who have regrettably lost their jobs and we wish them every luck as they look to the next step in the careers;" said Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of Advantage Travel Partnership.
"Our focus is now solely on supporting our members to ensure that their customers return home and those that have booked holidays are still able to enjoy their much-anticipated break. We encourage any member who has a question to contact us via the dedicated hotline."
Advantages’ in-house tour operation, Advantage Holidays, will also assist all members with rebooking of customers’ holidays through proactive outreach to the supplier network, it said. Members are encouraged to book Advantage Holiday’s through the website www.advantageholidaysagents.com or contact the hotline for further assistance.
Travel Counsellors has set up email and phone helplines for Thomas Cook clients on 0800 061 2155 and at [email protected].
The Travel Network Group has had a team working all over the weekend and has also set up a special support line for members to call.
Meanwhile, ABTA has issued a link to advice for its members on how to deal with the huge task.
https://www.abta.com/news/thomas-cook-group-advice-abta-members
The Foreign Office has issued CAA contact numbers for customers overseas +44 (0) 1753 330 330 and for anyone in the UK 0300 303 2800.
It is also directing customers to visit thomascook.caa.co.uk.
Read industry reaction here and what went wrong at Thomas Cook here.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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