Thomas Cook Belgium, Netherlands announce bankruptcy

By Abdullah Asiran and Ata Ufuk Seker

BRUSSELS/ ROTTERDAM (AA) - U.K.-based global travel group Thomas Cook’s Belgium and Netherlands subsidiaries on Monday announced their bankruptcy.

In a statement, Thomas Cook Belgium noted that it had 501 employees and 91 bureaus in Belgium, and said that it has gone bankrupt.

In a separate statement, Thomas Cook Netherlands also said that it filed for bankruptcy in a court in Amsterdam, which has been accepted.

The statement noted that Thomas Cook Netherlands had 200 employees.

The major British holiday operator and airline has “ceased trading with immediate effect,” British authorities had announced last week.

The collapse of the iconic 178-year-old British travel group came due to financial difficulties and failure to secure a deal of around £1.1 billion ($1.37 billion).

All bookings by the company -- including flights and holidays -- were canceled.

Around 150,000 people were affected by the flight cancellations.

* Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet in Ankara.