World's oldest travel firm shuts down, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded

The oldest travel company in the world, Thomas Cook, went out of business on Monday, leaving 600,000 customers stranded abroad.

The British firm was founded in 1841, planning trips by rail, and until Monday it ran hotels, resorts, and airlines in 16 countries. Thomas Cook collapsed after it was unable to strike a rescue deal with lenders, and in a statement, CEO Peter Fankhauser apologized, saying he had "profound regret" over the outcome.

All of Thomas Cook's flights have been canceled, and the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority said it will work with the government to fly 150,000 British customers now overseas back home within two weeks. This is the largest peacetime repatriation effort in British history, Reuters reports.

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