Thomas Cook’s new US route fails to get approval
Thomas Cook’s plans to start flying from London Gatwick to Reno-Tahoe Airport have hit the buffer even before they got off the ground.
Announced in November amid much fanfare, Thomas Cook hoped to launch seasonal services to Reno-Tahoe Airport later this year, in time for the start of the ski season, but these plans have now been cancelled due to border control red tape.
The problem stems from the lack of US Customs and Border Protection resources at the airport.
"It’s about customer service. Our customs facility here at Reno, the staffing they have, is not going to be able to clear the Thomas Cook passengers for almost three to four hours," said airport spokesman Brian Kulpin.
"That was unacceptable to the airline. It doesn’t fit their customer service model so they cancelled the flight. Obviously, we’re disappointed."
Kulpin said the airport has been seeking more funding for extra customs agents to speed up passenger processing.
"Unfortunately nothing is simple when it comes to the US government and US Customs and Border Protection. To get funding for more staffing at Reno is something that has to be done through Washington D.C."
Kulpin added that it is doubly disappointing as ticket sales were going well.
"You know, they sold tickets with about half from the US. The other half came from Europeans. The flight was doing really well in terms of sales," he said.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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