Hotels fret after Thomas Cook's collapse strands about 50,000 in Greece

About 50,000 tourists are stranded in Greece and mainly on island resorts after British travel firm Thomas Cook collapsed, the tourism minister said on Monday as extra flights were booked to ease their return home.

Officials said the tourists, mostly British, were on the islands of Zakynthos, Kos, Corfu, Skiathos and Crete, hitting an industry accounting for about a quarter of Greek economic output.

Thomas Cook, one of Britain's oldest companies, ran hotels, resorts and airlines for 19 million people a year in 16 countries. It entered liquidation on Monday, stranding half a million holidaymakers around the world. 

"We have about 50,000 people in Greece and there has been a rescue plan, a plan of repatriation currently underway," Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis told Reuters.

"We are supporting as much as we can," he said, adding that the Greek...