Thomas Cook's demise ruins wedding for... Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook promised their namesake customer a special surprise on his wedding day - but he wasn't expecting this
Monday 23 September 2019 13:53, UK
A groom called Thomas Cook has been left stranded with his fiance in Rhodes after planning their whole wedding through the ill-fated travel firm.
Thomas Cook, the company, went into administration overnight on Sunday, putting thousands of people out of work and leaving holidaymakers stuck without travel plans to get home.
Mr Cook and his fiancee Amelia Binch flew out to Greece on 18 September, ahead of their wedding on Friday, which was all booked through the travel firm.
They have now been told they might not have a wedding at all, because everything - from the flowers and cake to the decorations and entertainment - was booked through Thomas Cook.
Ms Binch told Sky News: "We are due to come home on 3 October and the wedding is on the 27th. But there's no Thomas Cook staff here to sort the wedding.
"Family and friends can't afford to get out as they've already paid and can't get flights."
She also said the firm had promised the couple "something special" on the big day, because of the shared name.
Friends and family have rallied around the couple on social media, wishing them good luck for getting it sorted, but Ms Binch told them they might be flown home within three days.
That would mean they were back at home in Hucknall before their wedding date.
They spent about £10,000 on the trip and had been planning it for two years.
Mr Cook told Nottinghamshire Live: "Thomas Cook promised us a surprise on our wedding because of my name but this was not the surprise we were expecting.
"I'm just devastated. 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."
Ms Binch said she had been feeling anxious after hearing about the travel firm's woes, and said they had chosen to go abroad because it would have been cheaper to get married there than in the UK.
She said: "I had a collapsed lung before I came and I got the all clear. It just seems like one thing after the other.
"We are ATOL protected but it is an absolute nightmare."
Holidaymakers who were abroad when the company collapsed are being flown home over the next two weeks, with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The CAA's policy director Tim Johnson told Sky News: "We expect to run around 1,000 flights from the 55 destinations that Thomas Cook served.
"This is a huge effort. We're working very closely with the government and Foreign Office in particular..
"But we're particularly appreciative and grateful for the support of a number of Thomas Cook employees who have clearly received this very sad news but they're going to be working with us over the coming few weeks to really help us manage this repatriation exercise."