A man bearing the unfortunate name Thomas Cook had his wedding plans ruined by the collapse of the world’s oldest travel company, which happens to bear the same name.
Cook, 29, and his fiancée, 27-year-old Amelia Binch, both from Hucknall, England, have been left stranded on the Greek island of Rhodes ahead of their wedding, which they booked through Thomas Cook, a 178-year-old British firm that shut down Monday amid crippling debt struggles, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded around the world.
The couple said they purchased a wedding package through the now-defunct group, which included the ceremony, flowers, cake, decorations and entertainment, spending nearly £10,000 ($12,500) on the trip in total.
Although Cook and Binch were set to wed at the Lindos Princess Beach Hotel on Sept. 27, they are no longer sure if the wedding will be able to go on as planned. As the U.K. government and the Civil Aviation Authority begin a massive repatriation effort to bring home more than 150,000 British citizens stranded by Thomas Cook’s sudden closure, they say they could be summoned to the airport at any moment.
To add to their troubles, most of their guests, including the best man, who were set to fly to Greece with Thomas Cook Airlines over the next few days, now have no way of traveling to the destination wedding, even if the ceremony can proceed.
“I am just devastated,” Cook told Nottinghamshire Live. “We have got 30-plus friends and family coming out, half are stuck at home in limbo. My best man is still in England. No one here knows anything.”
“I have been planning this for two years, and it has all gone to pot,” he added. “We have paid for everything. It is shattering. We don’t know what we can do. Thomas Cook promised us a surprise on our wedding because of my name, but this was not the surprise we were expecting.”
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Passengers of British travel group Thomas Cook queue at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 23, 2019. – British travel group Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy on September 23, 2019 after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)(Photo credit should read JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images)
John Garret from Boston Ma., who was supposed to be flying to Malta, takes a photo of the empty Thomas Cook check in desks in Gatwick Airport, England Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. British tour company Thomas Cook collapsed early Monday after failing to secure emergency funding, leaving tens of thousands of vacationers stranded abroad. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
John Garret and Ajouline Chaffee from Boston Ma., who were supposed to be flying to Malta, speak to the media near the empty Thomas Cook check in desks in Gatwick Airport, England Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. British tour company Thomas Cook collapsed early Monday after failing to secure emergency funding, leaving tens of thousands of vacationers stranded abroad. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
A security person stands next to the entrance of the German headquarters of travel company Thomas Cook in Oberursel near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
People walk past a closed Thomas Cook travel shop in London, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. British tour company Thomas Cook collapsed early Monday after failing to secure emergency funding, leaving tens of thousands of vacationers stranded abroad. The British government said the return of the 178-year-old firm’s 150,000 British customers now in vacation spots across the globe would be the largest repatriation in its peacetime history. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
A Thomas Cook plane on the tarmac at Gatwick Airport in Sussex, England Monday Sept. 23, 2019. British tour company Thomas Cook collapsed early Monday after failing to secure emergency funding, leaving tens of thousands of vacationers stranded abroad. (Steve Parsons/PA via AP)
A Thomas Cook aircraft parked at Manchester Airport as the 178-year-old tour operator has ceased trading with immediate effect after failing in a final bid to secure a rescue package from creditors. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
An airport worker speaks with passengers of the British travel group Thomas Cook at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 23, 2019. – British travel group Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy on September 23, 2019 after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)(Photo credit should read JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images)
British Government officials speak with passengers of the British travel group Thomas Cook at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 23, 2019. – British travel group Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy on September 23, 2019 after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)(Photo credit should read JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images)
A British Government official (C) speaks with passengers of the British travel group Thomas Cook at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 23, 2019. – British travel group Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy on September 23, 2019 after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)(Photo credit should read JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER,ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 23: Passengers disembark a Thomas Cook aircraft at Manchester Airport on September 23, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. The collapse of the 178-year-old travel firm triggered a massive repatriation effort, as the British Civil Aviation Authority chartered aircraft to bring around 150,000 travelers back to the UK. The firm’s closure also jeopardized 22,000 jobs worldwide, including 9,000 in the UK. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Passengers walk by the British travel group Thomas Cook’s counter at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 23, 2019. – British travel group Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy on September 23, 2019 after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)(Photo credit should read JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images)
A British Government official speaks with passengers of the British travel group Thomas Cook at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 23, 2019. – British travel group Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy on September 23, 2019 after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)(Photo credit should read JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images)
A British Government official speaks with passengers of the British travel group Thomas Cook at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 23, 2019. – British travel group Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy on September 23, 2019 after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)(Photo credit should read JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT – A British Government official speaks with passengers of the British travel group Thomas Cook at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on September 23, 2019. – British travel group Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy on September 23, 2019 after failing to reach a last-ditch rescue deal, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World War II to bring back stranded passengers. The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking £200 million ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)(Photo credit should read JAIME REINA/AFP/Getty Images)Up Next
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