THOMAS Cook could relaunch by the summer as an online travel agent as the former shareholder rehires senior executives from the travel firm.
Chinese conglomerate Fosun are believed to be attempting to bring back the firm which went into administration in September last year after buying the Thomas Cook name.
Fosun, who were the largest shareholder of Thomas Cook, have made former finance executive Raj Sharma the chief financial officer, according to The Times.
Alan French, who was the group strategy and technology director and Phil Gardner, who was head of sales, e-commerce and marketing, have also been re-hired.
The 178-year-old tour operator would become an online-only company by June if the plans go ahead.
It is claimed that it will be applying for a license from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the next couple of weeks although will not reintroduce the Thomas Cook airline.
Claims that Thomas Cook would become an online-only travel company were first revealed in November 2019, after Fosun bought the Thomas Cook name for £11m.
Fosun currently owns Thomas Cook China as well as the Thomas Cook own-brand hotels, Casa Cook and Cook Club.
The Chinese firm attempted a £450m rescue deal for Thomas Cook last year to buy 75 per cent of the business and 25 per cent of the airline.
Thomas Cook was once the oldest and one of the largest travel firms in the world, with 22 million customers per year.
Thomas Cook staff have been left "homeless and on anti-depressants" after being denied benefits when they lost their jobs.
Former customers of Thomas Cook are also still waiting on their refunds for their flights and holidays.
Other airlines such as TUI have taken advantage of the Thomas Cook collapse by launching more flights.
Sun Online Travel contacted Fosun for comment.
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