CAA completes £160 million Thomas Cook refunds

Since Cook collapsed in September, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been undertaking the UK travel industry’s largest ever refunds programme and has received some 215,000 valid claims since 7 October.

It has been a challenging operation, the CAA said, due to the potential threat of fraudulent claims and complexity in dealing with multiple booking systems used across the Thomas Cook Group.

Of the refund applications received on day one of the scheme, 67,000 were valid. Of those, two-thirds will have been refunded by the weekend.

This brings the total refunds value, including 90,000 direct debits, to £160 million.

In order to process the remaining day-one claims, the CAA says it needs more information. It has also encouraged anyone who applied for refunds on 7 October to check their email junk folders.

“We thank consumers for their ongoing patience as we continue to do all that we can to work through the UK travel industry’s largest ever refunds programme,” said Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA.

“I appreciate that this is a concerning time for Thomas Cook customers who are waiting for their refunds, particularly at this time of the year.

“We will have already paid out more than £160 million by this weekend and will continue to pay claims as soon as possible.”