One St Helier resident said she had spent another £11,500 to ensure her £21,000 two-week holiday for her and seven members of her family to the US went ahead. Jennie Jandron, a retail manager from St Helier, had been due to fly out to Orlando, Florida, next month.
And although Mrs Jandron is likely to get the money she spent with the collapsed holiday giant back through ATOL protection, the process could take months.
And a solo-traveller from Jersey has spoken about how she does not know when she will be able to fly home from Tenerife after her flights were cancelled. She was one of around 150,000 people in the same position.
The UK government yesterday announced that it was to launch ‘Operation Matterhorn’ – the largest peacetime repatriation project ever carried out.
Authorities have charted 45 aircraft which will temporarily make the government the fifth-largest airline in Britain.
Mrs Jandron said: ‘We were due to leave Jersey on 18 October to fly to Orlando on the 19th. We heard about how they [Thomas Cook] were in trouble originally when we paid our deposit, but then everything seemed to clear up. But then in the past few days the news started blurting it all out all the time again.
‘I kept saying that they will pull through, they will pull through, but then I woke up this morning, put the news on and saw that Thomas Cook had collapsed – it was a really sick feeling.
‘I have mixed emotions. It is really terrible, but I am fortunate to have a job tomorrow – I am so gutted for everybody in the Thomas Cook workforce.’
Meanwhile, Lisa Davies, a bathroom designer for Romerils, said that she was devastated at having to break the news to her children that they may not be going on holiday.
‘I was due to fly to Turkey next Easter for two weeks with my partner and two children but unfortunately that has now been cancelled,’ she said.
‘I did see it coming for a while but we were keeping our fingers crossed until yesterday morning when I went onto the internet and found out what had happened. I am not sure if I will get my money back, as I was paying for it through direct debit and, if I do, I am not sure if I will be able to book a similar holiday, as the price is likely to be a lot higher.’
Vicky Boyle (27), a care assistant from St Saviour, is currently on holiday in Tenerife, but is now unsure about when she might be able to return home.
‘I arrived on 12 September and I was due to fly out on the 26th, but I have no idea at the moment if I will be able to,’ she said.
‘There is a website which has been set up to give information, but that has not been updated to show people what is happening for each date of departure. I booked it with On The Beach, who booked Thomas Cook flights, and they have just told me to wait and see. I am on my own, so that has made it quite stressful and I have been given no information.’
