有178年歷史的英國旅游業巨頭托馬斯庫克當地時間9月23日凌晨宣告破產，60萬名正在度假的游客滯留在世界各地。該公司在全球十幾個國家的2萬多名員工，也在一夜之間丟了工作。這一切難道都是因為夏天太熱？

Thomas Cook, a 178-year-old British travel company and airline, declared bankruptcy early Monday morning, suspending operations and leaving hundreds of thousands of tourists stranded around the world.

擁有178年歷史的英國旅游及航空公司托馬斯庫克本周一（9月23日）凌晨宣布破產，暫停運營，導致數十萬游客滯留在世界各地。

stranded [str?nd?d]：adj.擱淺的；陷于困境的

The travel company operates its own airline, with a fleet of nearly 50 medium- and long-range jets, and owns several smaller airlines and subsidiaries, including the German carrier Condor. Thomas Cook still had several flights in the air as of Sunday night but was expected to cease operations once they landed at their destinations.

這家旅游公司旗下的航空公司有近50架中遠程噴氣式飛機，并擁有數家規模較小的航空公司和子公司，其中包括德國禿鷹航空。截至上周日晚間，托馬斯庫克仍有幾架航班在空中飛行，但預計一旦飛機抵達目的地，就會停飛。

Condor posted a message to its site late Sunday night saying that it was still operating but that it was unclear whether that would change. Condor's scheduled Monday-morning flights appeared to be operating normally.

禿鷹航空周日晚間在其網站上發布消息稱，公司仍在運營，但尚不清楚是否會有變化。禿鷹航空本周一上午的預定航班似乎運行正常。

About 600,000 Thomas Cook customers were traveling at the time of the collapse, of whom 150,000 were British, the company told CNN.

托馬斯庫克公司告訴美國有線新聞網說，公司倒閉時，大約有60萬名客戶在旅行途中，其中15萬是英國人。

The British Department for Transport and Civil Aviation Authority prepared plans, under the code name "Operation Matterhorn," to repatriate stranded British passengers. According to the British aviation authority, those rescue flights would take place until October 6, leading to the possibility that travelers could be delayed for up to two weeks.

英國交通部和民航局制定了代號為“馬特洪恩行動”的計劃，將滯留的英國乘客送回國。英國民航局表示，這些救援航班將持續運行到10月6日，這可能會導致乘客被延誤至多兩周。

Initial rescue flights seemed poised to begin immediately, with stranded passengers posting on Twitter that they were being delayed only a few hours as they awaited chartered flights.

第一批救援航班似乎很快就起飛了，被困乘客發推文稱，他們在等待包機時，只被延誤了幾個小時。

The scale of the task has reports calling it the largest peacetime repatriation effort in British history, including the operation the government carried out when Monarch Airlines collapsed in 2017.

有報道稱，這是英國歷史上規模最大的和平時期遣送行動，比2017年君主航空公司倒閉時實施的政府行動規模更大。

Costs of the flights were expected to be covered by the ATOL, or Air Travel Organiser's License, protection plan, a fund that provides for repatriation of British travelers if an airline ceases operations.

這些航班的費用預計將由ATOL（航空旅行組織者許可證）保護計劃承擔。如果一家航空公司停止運營，該基金將為英國游客提供遣送服務。

Airplanes from British Airways and easyJet would be among those transporting stranded passengers home, according to The Guardian, as well as chartered planes from leasing companies and other airlines. Thomas Cook Airlines' destinations included parts of mainland Europe, Africa, the US, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Airplanes were being flown to those destinations on Sunday night, according to the BBC.

據《衛報》報道，英國航空公司和易捷航空公司的飛機，以及租賃公司和其他航空公司的包機，都將參與運送被困乘客返回英國。托馬斯庫克航空公司的目的地包括歐洲大陸部分地區、非洲、美國、加勒比海地區和中東。據英國廣播公司報道，上周日晚上，救援飛機被派往這些目的地。

The company was still selling tickets until Sunday night in the UK.

直到上周日晚上，該公司還在英國售票。

One Plymouth, England-based traveler who had booked a vacation to the Greek island of Zakynthos for August 2020 told Business Insider that she saw Thomas Cook had charged her more than ￡600 by direct debit on Sunday afternoon for the trip but that she was not due to be charged until Thursday. It was unclear whether she would be able to recoup the funds with the bankruptcy declaration. 

一位來自英國普利茅斯的旅行者在托馬斯庫克公司預訂了2020年8月去希臘扎金索斯島度假的行程，她告訴商業內幕網說，她發現該公司在上周日下午直接扣款了600多英鎊（約合人民幣5310元），而她本應在本周四再支付這筆款項。目前還不清楚她是否能夠通過破產聲明要回這筆錢。

recoup [r?'ku?p]：vt.收回；恢復；償還；扣除

Thomas Cook, as well as a union representing some of its 9,000 UK employees, had sought an emergency funding plan from the British government. Government sources, however, "had questioned the financial wisdom of stepping in to save the company," according to the BBC. The company employs 21,000 globally.

托馬斯庫克以及代表其9000名英國雇員中部分員工的工會已向英國政府尋求一項緊急融資計劃。然而，據英國廣播公司報道，政府消息人士“對介入拯救該公司的想法提出了質疑”。該公司在全球擁有2.1萬名員工。

While Thomas Cook managed to recover from a risk of insolvency in 2011, it continued to be held back by lingering debts. It also suffered by lower demand over the past two summer travel seasons, as major heat waves led many Britons to stay home. Brexit uncertainties and a weak pound also contributed, according to The Telegraph.

盡管托馬斯庫克在2011年成功地從破產風險中復蘇，但它仍受到揮之不去的債務拖累。在過去的兩個夏季旅游季節里，由于猛烈的熱浪導致許多英國人呆在家里，公司也受到旅游需求下降的影響。據《每日電訊報》報道，英國脫歐的不確定性和英鎊疲軟也起到了推波助瀾的作用。

insolvency [?n's?lv(?)ns?]：n.破產，無力償還；倒閉

英文來源：內幕網

翻譯&編輯：yaning