Dominates the emmy awards with flea bag and dominates the emmy awards with fleabag and killing eve amongst the knights winners. The nights winners. Good evening and welcome to bbc news. A huge operation the biggest in peacetime has been launched to bring back british tourists who are stranded abroad following the collapse of the uks oldest package tour company thomas cook. A fleet of planes has been chartered to repatriate more than 150,000 british holidaymakers after last minute negotiations aimed at saving the 178 year old holiday firm failed. Many more customers who are booked to go on holidays are affected. And the jobs of 22 thousand people around the world are now at risk including nine thousand in the uk. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge has more. The last thomas cook flight ever arriving into manchester, after the company went bust. Passengers are lucky to be on board, the crew out of a job. As soon as we landed, all of them were crying. Its devastating, its a legacy has gone. As i say, i worked for them for ten years and ive got loads of friends who, their livelihood. Its tragic. Its aircraft now grounded and seized, after the firm collapsed. Countless holidays ruined. Were gutted, disappointed. It meant a lot to us, its our first holiday away together. Im still angry. Stephan and zoe were due to fly today to the Canary Islands to scatter her late fathers ashes. With them on the trip, their children. They are devastated, they have cried. They are not themselves. They have looked forward to this for months and months. Its not as if we have just decided we are going to go, this has been planned, weve had to get paperwork for the ashes, weve had to do everything. This the scene for customers pitching up in manchester and gatwick. Look at this. Yesterday, check in here would have been very busy. But with the company collapsing overnight, its airlines effectively vanished. The Civil Aviation authority has now charted an entire fleet of more than a0 aircraft to start bringing people back. And this is one of the first flights today in from new york. The biggest repatriation in modern times, a fiendishly complicated two week operation that could be a bumpy ride. But relief for those brought back from croatia. We were a little bit nervous, we were going to book flights by ourselves, but trusted the authorities and it has been seamless. In majorca, uk officials shepherding tourists. On their way back, but some into airports far from home. We understand now that we are flying to manchester at 20 to eight tonight and then theres a bus to newcastle. They have told us we are going to birmingham and then a coach trip for six hours from birmingham up to glasgow. Staff turned up to work in nottingham but only briefly. An emblematic name on our high streets gone and they are gutted at thomas cook headquarters in peterborough. Ive been here since i was 19 so its very sad. Everybody has given their heart and soul to this company and its kind of sad that we dont exist any more. Martin and gemma booked their wedding on a greek island via thomas cook. Tiny details are in place but their plans are now in disarray. Itjust broke my heart, i couldnt believe it, i was gutted. I dont want it to be true. Now it just all seems for nothing. A bit confused and empty. Dont know what to do. All that planning and its all gone. But the focus for the government is getting tens of thousands of british holiday makers home. 16,000 brits were booked on thomas cook flights today before it went bust. The hope is that by tonight most of them will be back. Others will return in the coming days. Tom burridge, bbc news. Earlier, our europe correspondent gavin lee sent this from palma, majorca one of the companys most popular destinations. Watching operation matterhorn in action today, the initial panic and fear and confusion, about 1500 passengers are not sure of how to get home, the first five flights back, they were reassured by lines of yellow jacketed members back, they were reassured by lines of yellowjacketed members of back, they were reassured by lines of yellow jacketed members of the Civil Aviation authority who had flown out especially to help them but now the situation has changed, there is frustration still because there is frustration still because there are hundreds of people at the airport, three flights have gone but there are those trying to get back to newcastle, manchester and the east midlands, being told they are hoping to get on a midnight flight tonight, but people are crying, saying they are not sure if they have to stay another night. There is a sense of the wider impact of the fa ct a sense of the wider impact of the fact that people relied on the life blood of thomas cook, there are dozens blood of thomas cook, there are d oze ns of blood of thomas cook, there are dozens of hotel affiliated to thomas cook, thousand customers are still waiting to be taken back this polish politicians have said this is the biggest tourism crisis this country has ever faced still waiting to be taken back, and the spanish politicians have said. So if you have booked with thomas cook what should you do and what are your rights . The government says all customers who are currently abroad and booked to return to the uk in the next fortnight will be brought back for free as close as possible to their original return date. People on Package Holidays dont need to pay extra for their accommodation those costs will be covered by the atol protection scheme. But if you are set to travel in future with thomas cook your booking has now been cancelled and the Authorities Say theres no point in going to the aiport. They say most people who have booked Package Holidays will have their money refunded. But that wont neccesarily cover the cost of re booking. If youve booked only flights with the company they may not be covered by the atol scheme. Youll have to try to claim back costs through travel insurance or your credit card company, depending on circumstances. You can find detailed information at thomascook. Caa. Co. Uk. thomas cook founded his travel Company Almost two centuries ago, offering short railwayjourneys in the east midlands for a shilling. It went on to become one of the biggest names in the travel industry, with millions of customers every year. Now its collapsed with debts of £1. 7 billion. Emma simpson examines what went wrong this shop front in the background, survived the war years, as well, you go to place for foreign travel. The go to. And then came the boom, brits found themselves with enough money for a few weeks in the sunshine, thomas cook pioneered the package holiday and rode the wave. Dontjust book it, thomas cook it. One of the worlds best known holiday brands, but its finances then became stretched. Thomas cook was a business with a huge amount of debt. It almost went bust in 2011 and it has not had the Financial Resilience to weather the huge changes in the market, with the low Cost Carriers coming along, jet2 holidays, people booking online more than through traditional high street agents, perhaps, and more recent factors we have had brexit, Consumer Confidence has been knocked, there have been weather conditions. Theres been all sorts going on. Slick marketing, but tradings been poor and the challenge has ultimately proved too great. It is deeply distressing to me that it has not been possible to save one of the most loved brands in travel. But he hasnt done too badly earning more than £8 million since taking charge in 2014, before overseeing the collapse of one of the oldest names in british business. Emma simpson, bbc news. Earlier our Business Editor explained how thomas cooks debt was a major factor in the companys collapse. This should be full with holiday makers leaving on 23 flights but it is silent and it has fallen victim to the serial company killer, debt. The new 017p you cant afford for much to go wrong, it can be easily pushed over the edge when you owe £1. 7 billion you cant afford for much to go wrong. So many things have played a part but the main problem is, this was not a financially Resilient Company and they did not think there was enough cash to mount a rescue deal, and the boss has apologised but he took £8 million over the last four years and there is an Insolvency Service investigation into what happened and that will be have ripples, but that will be little comfort to those who have had their holidays ruined the 9000 workers who have got to face unemployment now. Lets speak now to eduardo lopez. Hes been studying at Durham University for the past two years and his flight back home to mexico has been cancelled. What happened to you . Basically i learned this morning that thomas cook was bankrupt and when i discovered that i started calling everything, the company, the caa and the Mexican Embassy for help, and nobody knew what to do, and now im stranded here in the uk and im not able to go back to my country. You say you are stranded in the uk, why is that . Basically i dont have the opportunity to afford another fight to go back to my country, and i dont have a place to stay in this country either, and i dont have support, im still waiting for the embassy to come back to me to see what is the strategy for the Mexican Government to solve the situation. If they are not able to help meet. I dont know if the British Government is going to do something for the people here who need to go back to their own countries. You have been in touch with thomas cook and the caa and also Barclays Bank who you bought your ticket with, how good have those organisations been at answering your questions . Thomas cook and caa were not very helpful because they said in order to get my funds back i have to be with the ato l funds back i have to be with the atol and have the certificate, which i dont have, but when i went to berkeley is, they did not know what to do, because they only learned about it this morning when i went to ba rclays bank. About it this morning when i went to Barclays Bank. They now say they will be able to refund the money but it will be in a couple of weeks which considering my situation right now, that is very risky for me and difficult. I can understand, this must be troubling and you really have our sympathy, where are you at the moment . Im in a hostel in manchester because i already booked everything to go from here to mexico and im just waiting for an answer from the embassy as to whether they can help me go back to my country. From the sound of it or you can do is sit tight and wait, what are you doing for money . All you can do. Ican doing for money . All you can do. I can actually work because i have a visa, and i gotan i can actually work because i have a visa, and i got an offerfrom some friends, i can stay over at theres, but i need to travel to durham and stay there. I was thinking that if i go back where i can apply for an fund and that will enable me to get back home. I hope you dont mind me asking, who do you blame for your predicament . That is a hard question. It would be me because i thought the company was a trusted company, to make a commitment like that one, but if i have to blame a specific thing regarding this it would be the government that did not decide to help the company when they we re decide to help the company when they were in trouble, or the company because they did not see this coming, because they said last week it was ok, but now today i cant go back to my country. I think everybody listening will understand how difficult this must be and we are thinking of you and let us know how you get on. Thanks forjoining us. Lets speak now to steve byrne who is chief executive of travel counsellors, an independent travel Company Based in manchester. What are people like eduardo supposed to do . Good evening. It is difficult first and foremost, this isa difficult first and foremost, this is a story about people rather than a business, and i think we need to make sure that everyone in the travel industry is available for people like eduardo so he has got someone to go to for help and advice, we have all got our responsibility to make sure as many of the customers that have been affected and also the star, have got someone to go and talk to to support the staff. Someone to go and talk to to support the staff. What are you doing when you say everyone has a responsibility . Trying to help. People can continue with their holidays and flights, and have a future for themselves, and for example we have been proactive over the course of today in trying to share our details with customers who may have a problem, so they can contact us and we can help them. We have a freephone number to help them, because ultimately we want to make sure that people like eduardo can continue with their trip. How surprised are you by the collapse of thomas cook . It has been in the offing for some time, and there was the Previous Report which said lots of Different Reasons have contributed to that, but fundamentally what the business did not do is latch on quickly enough to the people wanting a different type of experience. They no longerjust wa nt of experience. They no longerjust want a holiday out of the box, they wa nt want a holiday out of the box, they want something personal and personalised to them, and the competitors of thomas cook have been quicker and capitalising on that than they have, so i think the current trend, customers with increasing choices, about how they procure their travel, you have got to make sure you are offering customers the care and personalisation that an increasing number of people are looking for and i dont think they did that quickly enough. In a sense of a changing of the times, so what other challenges is the travel industry facing . We have also seen a massive move online. I dont think the challenges facing the industry are any different to any other industry, there is a growth in online bookings as the development of technology increases, but whether you have an online or off line model, ultimately we are in business to make sure we provide care for our customers, so it is about making sure that we understand the external factors that our previous correspondence has referred to, brexit and the Foreign Exchange rates, and whether fundamentally ill be doing an outstanding job in caring for our customers and the people who care for our customers question what are we doing. If you do that, you can thrive and prosper, this is a reminder ultimately we are only as good as the customers that think highly of us and the fact they want to come back to us. Thomas cook had accumulated a level of debt which met its financing costs were significant and the big takeaway for us, in the industry, is to make sure we are there doing outstanding things for our customers. A final thought, how can travellers protect themselves against this kind of thing happening again . What is your advice . You need to make sure you are booking with someone who carries ato l are booking with someone who carries atol protection and if a customer goes direct they dont have that, they can go to an intermediary and look for the atol protection. A number of Companies Like ours also offer a voluntary scheme of financial protection so as well as looking for a company which offers ato l looking for a company which offers atol protection, and that does not cover everything, i would also make sure that who im booking with has a volu nta ry sure that who im booking with has a voluntary scheme in place so you know everything you book is com pletely know everything you book is completely financially protected, so no matter what happens in the unlikely event you dont get what you unlikely event you dont get what yu pay unlikely event you dont get what you pay for, you are guaranteed to get your money back, and they are travel businesses that recognise the gaps in the current Regulatory Regime that do that an offer that level of security for customers. Steve, thanks for joining level of security for customers. Steve, thanks forjoining us. The headlines on bbc news. The biggest repatriation in peace time is underway after travel giant thomas cook collapsed, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded, and trips ruined. After a brexit showdown at the labour party conference, Jeremy Corbyns policy on staying neutral triumphs over those who wanted to back remain. Teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg delivers an angry address at the un Climate Summit in new york. Delegates at labours conference in brighton have voted this evening to backJeremy Corbyn on brexit. It means the party Wont Campaign to remain in the eu at the next general election. It comes after a fierce debate over labours brexit policy. From brighton, our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg reports. Where are we going now . Up these stairs. Yes, ok, lets go. Were going together. Where is he taking the labour party . Out of the European Union or to campaign now to stay . Are you confident that the party will be behind you on brexit . Youre shouting questions at people, its quite rude, actually. Jeremy corbyns been surrounded by resistance to his plan to stay neutral until after an election. And emilys got a valid view to express and others have a different view. Its been a torrid argument for the leadership to make because millions of labour voters wanted to leave the eu, but the partys heart is remain. Whats going on . I mean, youre saying that this is an honest debate, but people are furious about what is happening. Theres lots of emotion, no doubt about that. Its understandable, really, but i quite like that. I would rather people were honest about their emotions in all of this, but in expressing that emotion, at the end of the day, actually, i do think people will come together. Are you proud of what the labour party is doing this week, all the skulduggery behind the scenes . Im proud were having an open and democratic debate. I really am, i really am. Look, were socialists and were idealist