Following its insolvency, the travel company FTI Touristik is now being liquidated. The company owes over a billion euros to hundreds of thousands of creditors, many of whom are travelers.
Liquidation and asset sales after insolvency
The formal insolvency proceedings for FTI Touristik, once Germany’s third-largest travel provider, began on Sunday, September 1, as the company was unable to sustain operations after becoming over-indebted in June. The focus now is on dismantling and selling off the company’s assets. According to the insolvency administrator Axel Bierbach, there are promising prospects for selling the foreign hotel companies, which employ around 7,500 people.
About half of FTI’s 1,400 employees in Germany will be laid off, with approximately 130 staying on to help Bierbach wind down the company. The remaining employees retained their jobs either through the sale of FTI subsidiaries or by securing positions with other travel providers. Bierbach noted that there was no realistic option to keep parts of the travel giant afloat. The lack of sufficient liquidity and the inability to issue security certificates for travelers meant that the package travel business model could no longer be saved.
Debts exceed one billion euros, impacting 350,000 creditors
FTI Touristik and its subsidiary BigXtra currently have debts exceeding one billion euros owed to approximately 350,000 creditors. The majority are package travelers, along with 2,000 to 3,000 hotels and travel agencies. Customers with package travel bookings are entitled to refunds from the German Travel Security Fund (DRSF), established after the Thomas Cook insolvency in 2021. However, creditors should only file claims if they are not fully compensated by the DRSF. Those who booked individual services through FTI may attempt to recover their money through payment intermediaries. The entire process of handling and verifying all claims, including those from the state, is expected to take several years, with Bierbach warning that creditors are unlikely to recover much.
Competitors swiftly fill the gap left by FTI
Insolvency administrator Bierbach has already secured new owners for several FTI subsidiaries, including the luxury travel provider Windrose, the Erfurt-based service center erf24, the brand 5vorFlug, and shares in the TVG Touristik Vertriebsgesellschaft. The hotel companies in the travel destinations include 54 properties, of which only eight were owned by FTI, with the rest being leased. These hotels were only about 20% dependent on FTI guests, allowing them to continue operations with minimal disruption.
Competitors such as TUI, Dertour, and Alltours quickly stepped in to fill the gap, offering new travel options to FTI customers. Bierbach remains optimistic about finding good solutions for creditors and affected employees, stating that intense and advanced negotiations are ongoing with multiple bidders. However, only a portion of the 1,500 employees who worked for FTI’s destination agencies in 17 countries has been able to secure new employment.
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