Man with terminal cancer could miss out on last holiday with wife due to Thomas Cook collapse
A 42-year-old man with terminal cancer could likely miss out on his final holiday with his wife following the collapse of the tourism company Thomas Cook. Matt Dominic and his wife, Lyndsay, had accumulated their travel money, £1,800, through a crowdfunding company that launched fundraisers for the couple. Matt, who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in May 2018, was set to fly with his wife to Tenerife on September 24 for a week-long holiday when the firm made the shocking announcement of its collapse. The move has left more than 150,000 travelers stranded abroad and 21,000 employees out of work.
Lyndsay, from Derby, while talking to ITV News, said she has not been able to get through to anyone at Thomas Cook or the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) ever since they received the news.
"We're beyond fed up. We were toying with packing yesterday but we were preparing for the worst. Matt's got a stinking cold so he was up at 4 am - that's when we found out," she said. "We don't have a back-up plan."
Reports state that the couple's holiday is covered by ATOL and they expect their money back, however, time is running out for Matt who was given six months to live over a year ago and now his wife is worried that they may not have enough time to arrange another trip.
"It's not possible for us to book another holiday unless we get our money back, and I keep reading that it could take up to two months to get refunded," Lyndsay continued. She said that the two phone numbers she had for Thomas Cook are playing a recorded message and she can not get through to anyone at the CAA.
The 41-year-old said the entire experience has left them "gutted." "He was really looking forward to it. He's not got a lot to look forward to, bless him," she said, adding that she does not want to ask people for more donations through crowdfunding.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of Thomas Cook, Peter Fankhauser, released a statement saying that the company had "worked exhaustively" to salvage a rescue package.
"I know that this outcome will be devastating to many people and will cause a lot of anxiety, stress and disruption. 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," Frankhauser said.