LONDON, Sept 30 — Britain’s aviation regulator said today that refunds of bookings by Thomas Cook customers could take longer than expected as the regulator does not have all information needed from the collapsed travel firm.

The Civil Aviation Authority said it was launching a new, online payment system next week for bookings made by payments methods other than direct debit and would enable customers to get refunds within 60 days of receiving refund forms.

A total of 100,000 bookings made by direct debit would be refunded within the next 14 days.

53 flights are scheduled to operate on September 30, returning 8,000 people following the collapse of collapsed British travel firm Thomas Cook, the regulator said.

CAA said more than two-thirds of the total number of customers have been repatriated. — Reuters