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Monarch flights cancelled as airline ceases trading | Monarch flights cancelled as airline ceases trading |
(35 minutes later) | |
Monarch Airlines has ceased trading and its 300,000 future bookings for flights and holidays have been cancelled, the Civil Aviation Authority has said. | |
About 110,000 customers are currently overseas and the government has asked the CAA to charter more than 30 aircraft to bring them back to the UK. | About 110,000 customers are currently overseas and the government has asked the CAA to charter more than 30 aircraft to bring them back to the UK. |
Monarch is the UK's fifth biggest airline and the country's largest ever to go into administration. | Monarch is the UK's fifth biggest airline and the country's largest ever to go into administration. |
Customers due to fly from the UK have been told not to go to the airport. | Customers due to fly from the UK have been told not to go to the airport. |
Monarch had been in last-ditch talks with the CAA about renewing its licence to sell package holidays. | Monarch had been in last-ditch talks with the CAA about renewing its licence to sell package holidays. |
It had until midnight on Sunday to reach a deal with the aviation authority but failed to do so. | It had until midnight on Sunday to reach a deal with the aviation authority but failed to do so. |
Advice to Monarch customers, issued by CAA | Advice to Monarch customers, issued by CAA |
The CAA said the situation was "unprecedented", but the 110,000 customers currently overseas would be returned home at no additional cost to them. | |
Dame Deirdre Hutton, chairwoman of the authority, said passengers from as far away as Tel Aviv would require repatriation and that two "rescue flights" from Ibiza had already taken off. | |
She asked passengers for patience, saying the CAA was having to effectively create one of the UK's largest airlines overnight, adding: "It is a huge undertaking." | |
The CAA said the "vast majority" of customers due to fly on Monday would return by the end of the day. | |
'Hugely distressing' | |
Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA, said the "scale" of the operation means "some disruption is inevitable". | Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA, said the "scale" of the operation means "some disruption is inevitable". |
He added: "We ask customers to bear with us as we work around the clock to bring everyone home." | He added: "We ask customers to bear with us as we work around the clock to bring everyone home." |
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said he had ordered "the country's biggest ever peacetime repatriation". | |
"This is a hugely distressing situation for British holidaymakers abroad - and my first priority is to help them get back to the UK." | |
However, the government has warned passengers to expect disruption and delay as it works to ensure there are enough flights to return the "huge number" of passengers. | |
A perfect storm? | |
By Joe Lynam, BBC business correspondent | |
Monarch has experienced the perfect storm of challenges in recent years. | |
The terror attacks in Turkey and Egypt have deprived the airline of a large chunk of its annual revenues, and forced it to compete on heavily congested traditional routes to Spain and Greece. | |
That has forced down prices and profits on top of weaker demand from UK travellers - for whom a less valuable pound has made travelling costlier. | |
The short-haul market has been described as "horrendous" by senior aviation industry figures. It has already resulted in the collapse of Air Berlin and placed huge pressure on other airlines. | |
Put simply, there are too many seats and not enough bums to put on them to make a profit for all major carriers. | |
Monarch carried 6.3 million passengers last year to 40 destinations from Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham, Leeds-Bradford and Manchester airports. | |
The airline, founded in 1968, employs about 2,500 people and is made up of a scheduled airline, tour operator and an engineering division. | |
Monarch's owner, Greybull Capital, had been trying to sell part or all of its short-haul operation so it could focus on more profitable long-haul routes. | |
The airline reported a loss of £291m for the year to October 2016, compared with a profit of £27m for the previous 12 months, after revenues slumped. | |
How will package holiday customers be affected? | How will package holiday customers be affected? |
For people who booked package holidays - but have not yet flown - they will be able to apply for a refund through the Atol scheme, which refunds customers if a travel firm collapses. | For people who booked package holidays - but have not yet flown - they will be able to apply for a refund through the Atol scheme, which refunds customers if a travel firm collapses. |
"Experience suggests this will take weeks or months rather than days," says Simon Calder, travel editor at the Independent. | "Experience suggests this will take weeks or months rather than days," says Simon Calder, travel editor at the Independent. |
He told BBC Radio 5 Live that the news was "absolutely heartbreaking" but the main thing for Monarch customers abroad was not to panic: "You will be brought home more or less on schedule." | |
"There is no point in arriving at the airport on the wrong day. Just continue with your holiday," he said. | |
By law, every UK travel company which sells air holidays has to hold an Atol licence. Monarch's website says it only held the licence for package holidays, not flight-only tickets. | By law, every UK travel company which sells air holidays has to hold an Atol licence. Monarch's website says it only held the licence for package holidays, not flight-only tickets. |
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