After years of mismanagement, the UK’s oldest travel group has collapsed, leaving 22,000 employees jobless and over 150,000 travellers in a lurch. The 178-year old holiday group collapsed after last-minute negotiations aimed at saving it failed.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the tour operator had “ceased trading with immediate effect”. It has also triggered the biggest ever peacetime repatriation, aimed at bringing more than 150,000 British travelers home. Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook’s chief executive, said the firm’s collapse was a “matter of profound regret”.

Thomas Cook said Monday that it had been forced into liquidation after failing to reach an agreement with banks and its major shareholder, China’s Fosun Tourism, on a £1.1 billion ($1.4 billion) rescue plan. Before being suspended, the company’s shares were down 90% this year.