Monarch goes into administration
Above:
A Monarch A320.
Courtesy Monarch Airlines
Monarch Airlines flights from the UK have been cancelled (and won't be rescheduled) with around 110,000 travellers currently abroad on trips booked with the group, who at the monment have no flight to bring them back home.
The UK Government today began an unprecedented repatriation effort to return 110,000 passengers affected by the failure of Monarch.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling commissioned the extraordinary operation to return passengers who would otherwise have been left stranded by a lack of capacity in the aviation market to deal with such a significant demand.
The response means the government has agreed that passengers will not be charged for repatriation flights. Work is underway to recoup costs from the ATOL scheme and card providers.
It is understood that Monarch - employs about 2,100 people and reported a £291 million loss last year compared with a £27 million profit for the previous 12 months after revenues fell - was in discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) about renewing its licence to sell package holidays but failed to do so by a deadline of midnight on Sunday.
The Government is working closely with the CAA to build a temporary airline from scratch that would be one of the UK’s biggest carriers if operating permanently.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: "This is a hugely distressing situation for British holidaymakers abroad - and my first priority is to help them get back to the UK.
"That is why I have immediately ordered the country’s biggest ever peacetime repatriation to fly about 110,000 passengers who could otherwise have been left stranded abroad.
"This is an unprecedented response to an unprecedented situation. Together with the CAA, we will work around the clock to ensure Monarch passengers get the support they need.
"Nobody should underestimate the size of the challenge, so I ask passengers to be patient and act on the advice given by the CAA."
All Monarch flights to the UK today and for the next two weeks will be replaced with alternative flights, organised by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) with assistance from the administrators.
Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of the CAA, said: “We know that Monarch's decision to stop trading will be very distressing for all of its customers and employees.
“This is the biggest UK airline ever to cease trading, so the Government has asked the CAA to support Monarch customers currently abroad to get back to the UK at the end of their holiday at no extra cost to them.
“We are putting together, at very short notice and for a period of two weeks, what is effectively one of the UK's largest airlines to manage this task. The scale and challenge of this operation means that some disruption is inevitable. We ask customers to bear with us as we work around the clock to bring everyone home.
“We urge people affected by the company's collapse to check our dedicated website monarch.caa.co.uk for advice and information on flights back to the UK. It also gives information to those passengers that have future bookings with Monarch but are yet to leave the UK.”
A dedicated website and two helplines have been set up for customers in the UK and customers overseas:
Customers in the UK:
0300 303 2800
Customers overseas:
+44 1753 330330
www.monarch.caa.co.uk
See also
https://abta.com/news-and-views/news/monarch-travel-group
