Collapse of British tour company leaves 150,000 passengers stranded

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - The collapse of a British tour company has left 150,000 travelers stranded across the world and now the government is working to bring them back home. 

The tour operator, Thomas Cook, wasn't able to secure emergency funding to stay in business and had to shut down its four airlines and hotel services. But that has left tens of thousands of passengers in limbo. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government was right not to bail out the company arguing that travel firms should do more to ensure they don't collapse. 

The Civil Aviation Authority is now trying to arrange return flights for the stranded passengers. 

The collapse of the 178-year-old company also means 21,000 employees will lose their jobs.