Jamaica Secures Airlift arrangements with Condor, Post Thomas Cook

LONDON, United Kingdom; November 7, 2019:  Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett has secured airlift arrangements with Condor Airlines as part of efforts to lessen the impact of the recent collapse of Thomas Cook, the 178-year-old British tour operator.

The announcement follows a meeting with Condor Airlines and the Jamaica Tourist Board during World Travel Market yesterday.

“Following discussions yesterday, Condor Airlines has agreed to pick up the fallout of seats from Thomas Cook in Germany and continental Europe. We also had further discussions about the possibility of additional flights out of the region,” said Minister Bartlett.

Condor Airlines, a subsidiary of the defunct Thomas Cook, has been the most consistent carrier to Jamaica from Germany over the last twenty (20) years with bi weekly services. Despite its parent company Thomas Cook Group filing for insolvency, the airline continues to operate after securing a bridging loan from the German government.

“This arrangement forms part our overall strategy to ensure that we continue to mitigate the impact of this fall out. We have already met with all our key partners, our three major airlines – Tui, Virgin, and British Airways – and we have completely restored all the seats that would have been lost for the period,” said Minister Bartlett.

Based on these arrangements with airlines, tour operators, and travel agencies, Jamaica will be out of danger in terms of airlift not only for the rest of the year, but for the winter tourist season.

The collapse of Thomas Cook left a large number of travellers stranded across the world. Visitors to Jamaica were brought home to the UK on special free flights or booked onto another scheduled airline, at no additional cost.