Berlin pays less compensation to Thomas Cook travelers than expected

Just 130.5 million euros ($154 million) had been transferred to those affected by the package holiday provider’s bankruptcy by the end of June 2021, the spokesman said.

Originally, Justice Minister, Christine Lambrecht had expected payouts to reach 225 million euros.

But 95,600 cases, equivalent to some 91 percent of applications, had already been settled.

Cook Germany, which was caught up in the bankruptcy of the British parent company, applied for insolvency in September 2019, gradually canceling all trips booked with it.

Hundreds of thousands of customers were affected.

The German Government decided to refund customers with the shortfall between what they had paid and what the insurers would payout on the condition that they had previously registered claims with the administrator and the relevant insurers.

However, many customers did not reclaim the money through the government claims portal, but rather through other avenues such as credit card providers, the ministry spokesman said.