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| Monarch collapse was timed to keep disruption to minimum, says CEO | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The collapse of Monarch was timed to avoid more disruption and could not have been averted due to Britain’s insolvency laws, the airline’s chief executive has said. | |
| Monarch was placed into administration at 4am on Monday, triggering Britain’s biggest peacetime repatriation of stranded air travellers, which is expected to take about two weeks to complete. | |
| Andrew Swaffield, the Monarch CEO, said that executives had “left no stone unturned” in their effort to save the airline, but concluded on Saturday night that there was no prospect of recovery. However, Monarch waited more than 24 hours to go into administration to allow the Civil Aviation Authority to prepare its emergency flight operation. | |
| The CAA brought 11,843 Monarch customers back to the UK on 61 flights on Monday, with a further 11,647 passengers expected to travel home on Tuesday on specially chartered planes. | |
| Swaffield said: “We made the decision finally late on Saturday night that we no longer had a prospect of continuing. What we tried to do is operate a normal schedule all day Sunday so we could be ready for the CAA’s rescue flights on Monday without a massive backlog. Had we stopped on Sunday there would have been no planes to rescue them.” | |
| Speaking to the BBC, he told of his “sorrow” for both the disruption and the fate of Monarch’s employees. But he said the UK’s insolvency laws did not allow the airline to continue flying. | |
| Observers had questioned why the government did not step in to prop up the failing airline, after Germany and Italy had both assisted Air Berlin and Alitalia, which continue to fly. | |
| Swaffield said: “We don’t have that legal framework, we couldn’t continue operating. We spoke to a variety of sources, tried to leave no stone unturned including trying to raise capital, selling parts of the company, and finally concluded that we had no prospect.” | |
| Monarch had projected losses of more than £100m. Swaffield said the airline was trying to find jobs for more than 1,800 people already made redundant, with hundreds more head office staff to follow. | |
| The government is hoping to reduce the estimated £60m cost to taxpayers of bringing 110,000 Monarch customers back to the UK from overseas by splitting some of the bill with tour operators and credit card companies. | The government is hoping to reduce the estimated £60m cost to taxpayers of bringing 110,000 Monarch customers back to the UK from overseas by splitting some of the bill with tour operators and credit card companies. |
| A spokesman for the Department for Transport said the government would be speaking to third-party tour operators and credit card companies with the hope of recouping some of the cost on behalf of taxpayers. The main priority, however, was to bring everybody back to the UK, he said. | A spokesman for the Department for Transport said the government would be speaking to third-party tour operators and credit card companies with the hope of recouping some of the cost on behalf of taxpayers. The main priority, however, was to bring everybody back to the UK, he said. |
| The CAA said it was “working round the clock” with the government to ensure all Monarch customers were back in Britain by Sunday 15 October. | |
| “We recognise that this will be a concerning time for many customers and we really appreciate their support,” said Andrew Haines, the chief executive of the CAA. | “We recognise that this will be a concerning time for many customers and we really appreciate their support,” said Andrew Haines, the chief executive of the CAA. |
| “I want to thank all those involved in organising this mammoth operation, which has got off to a good start, and to reaffirm our commitment to those passengers still abroad that we will get them back to the UK in the days ahead.” | “I want to thank all those involved in organising this mammoth operation, which has got off to a good start, and to reaffirm our commitment to those passengers still abroad that we will get them back to the UK in the days ahead.” |
| He said the CAA helpline had taken more than 13,000 calls and the website monarch.caa.co.uk had been updated with the latest information. | He said the CAA helpline had taken more than 13,000 calls and the website monarch.caa.co.uk had been updated with the latest information. |
| “Given the unprecedented scale of this task some disruption is inevitable. We thank everyone involved for their patience,” Haines said. | |
| The CAA has chartered 34 planes to fly the passengers back from more than 30 airports across Europe. Monarch customers overseas have been told that the vast majority of flights will be at the same time or later than their original booking. | |
| All future Monarch flights and holidays have been cancelled, with customers in the UK told not to go the airport. | All future Monarch flights and holidays have been cancelled, with customers in the UK told not to go the airport. |