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Monarch Airlines collapse leaves thousands of holiday-makers stranded

Published: 02:38 02 Oct 2017 EDT

Monarch Airlines
A stark message on the Monarch Airlines web site

A Dunkirk-style rescue operation is in progress after charter airline Monarch went into administration today.

All Monarch Airlines aircraft have been grounded, leaving around 110,000 holiday makers stranded abroad.

Biggest UK airline to fail

It is the biggest UK airline ever to go under, and the UK Government has asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to coordinate flights back to the UK for all Monarch customers currently overseas, at no cost to the passengers. The replacement flights will be scheduled on the same day as the now cancelled Monarch flights, so there will be no need for affected customers to cut short their holiday.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said it was “the country’s biggest ever peacetime repatriation”.

The company’s Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL) expired at 23.59 on 30 September; the airline was given a 24-hour stay of execution but was unable to stave off administration in that period.

Customers with future flights booked on Monarch Airlines have had those flights cancelled.

“If you are due to depart from a UK airport with Monarch Airlines today or in the future, please do not travel to your UK airport as your flight will not be operating,” the CAA told Monarch customers on its web site.

The abrupt cancellations are certain to cause a tremendous amount of disruption and distress, and the prospect of a refund at some point down the line might be little consolation to passengers who were at the airport when the announcement of Monarch’s collapse was made.

Some flights not ATOL protected

Flights booked directly with Monarch Airlines from 15 December 2016 onwards are not ATOL protected and are not entitled for a claim to the CAA. Customers in this unfortunate situation are advised to contact their card issuer, insurer or PayPal for advice on how to claim a refund.

Flights booked with Monarch Airlines on or before 14 December 2016 that came with an ATOL Certificate stating that the flight is protected with First Aviation are ATOL protected. The CAA is making arrangements for refunds to be made as soon as possible to these UK customers.

Monarch Airlines was founded in 1968 and at the time of its demise flew to more than 40 destinations from five airports in the UK.

 

 

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