Aviation

60pc of Monarch passengers back in the UK


BBC | Published: October 09, 2017 00:25:17 | Updated: October 24, 2017 06:50:34


60pc of Monarch passengers back in the UK

More than 60 per cent of holidaymakers left overseas when Monarch Airlines collapsed have now flown back to the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority says.

The CAA stepped in after all of Monarch's flights and holidays were cancelled, leasing and chartering planes from 16 different countries.

On Saturday, 51 flights carried more than 11,000 people back to UK airports, bringing the total to 67,522.

The collapse of the 50-year-old company is the largest ever for a UK airline.

By Sunday morning, more than 350 flights chartered or leased by the CAA had brought Monarch customers back from their destination. It said the vast majority of the 110,000 passengers who were on holiday and booked to fly home with the airline when it went into administration will be back in the UK by next weekend.

The CAA called the flight operation "the biggest peacetime repatriation effort", and still expects it to cost close to £60m.

The bill will be met by the government and a trust run by the UK's holiday industry licensing body Atol, which collects a levy on all holiday packages sold in the UK.

Share if you like