Widnes couple stranded after airline goes bust
MONARCH Airlines fell into administration leaving 110,000 customers stuck abroad and relying on the Government for a flight home including a Widnes couple.
All future flights from the UK – some 300,000 future bookings – have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled, accountants KPMG said.
The airline is advising customers, who are preparing to the leave the country with them, not to go to the airport as no planes are leaving the ground.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it has been asked by the Government to charter more than 30 aircraft to bring the passengers back to the UK – the biggest peacetime repatriation operation.
While Monarch does not fly out of Liverpool, families from the North West are being caught up in the turmoil on flights due to leave from or return to Manchester.
Will Kozer, of Widnes, is on holiday in Croatia with his wife Nicola, and was due to fly home from Dubrovnik on Monday, October 2.
He said: “We’re were worried when we first heard but we know that the apartment we are staying in is free after we leave, so the option to stay would be there. It’s more of a problem if we end up stranded at the airport.
“At the minute, it looks like we’re okay. We’ve got a new flight number so assume we’re flying home with a different company. It seems to be more of an issue for flights out of the UK.”
Customers have been told to keep away from airports as there will be no more flights after the airline failed to renew a crucial licence.
Passengers already at airports were unable to check in for pre-booked flights and sent away.
CAA chief executive Andrew Haines 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.”
The CAA said all Monarch customers who are abroad and due to return to the ● UK in the next two weeks will be flown home.
The flights will be at no extra cost to passengers and they do not need to cut short their stay, the regulator said.
Monarch’s woes have been blamed on rising fuel costs, the weak pound and terror fears.
The crisis comes a year after it turned to its owners, private equity firm Greybull, for a £165m rescue package.
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.
Commenting on the ‘extraordinary operation’, 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 Civil Aviation Authority, 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.”