Belgium's Travel Guarantee Fund on Friday reimbursed the first batch of travellers affected by Thomas Cook’s collapse in late September.
“The first payments, for a total of €123,000, have been issued,” said Fund Director Mark De Vriendt. They “are still limited but the amounts will increase in the coming weeks and months,” he added.
A total of 83,000 travellers were affected by Thomas Cook’s collapse in Belgium. About 13,000 of them had to be repatriated, while the rest had their intended flights cancelled.
The affected passengers were each able to fill in a claim form and submit it to the Guarantee Fund, which received about 22,000 claims.
They are all being examined in chronological order based on their departure dates, and should all be processed over the next six months.
Thomas Cook’s demise is expected to cost over €30 million, according to an estimate previously made by the Fund. This amount includes the reimbursement of affected travellers, payment of hotel expenses abroad, and repatriation costs.
The Brussels Times
