Monarch Airlines flights cancelled as airline goes into administration

Civil Aviation Authority says it is taking action to get 110,000 people back to UK, while 300,000 future bookings have been cancelled

A Monarch plane lands at Gatwick Airport, London. Photograph:

Monarch Airlines has been placed into administration and all flights from the UK have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled, accountants KPMG said on Monday night.

The Civil Aviation Authority said it had launched a programme to bring 110,000 Monarch Airlines customers back to the UK in response to the airline being placed into administration, which also leaves 300,000 future bookings cancelled.

The UK’s airline regulator had been expected to announce on Monday whether Monarch would be able to continue selling package holidays. The low-cost airline and holiday company previously had a deadline of midnight on 30 September before its Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (Atol) expired.

The firm was granted a 24-hour extension to the licence by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), until midnight on 1 October.

The announcement came just after midnight that Monarch would cease operating, with all flights cancelled.

It was Monarch’s second such temporary extension in two years and followed a spotlight being shone on the carrier’s finances.

The licence allows the firm to sell Atol-protected holidays. The CAA confirmed over the weekend that Atol protection would remain available for eligible holiday bookings made with the airline on Sunday.

Monarch, whose headquarters are at London Luton Airport, was founded in 1968. It also operates from four other UK bases including London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds Bradford to more than 40 destinations around Europe and further afield.

The company employs approximately 2,750 predominantly UK-based staff, its website states.

UK travel firms selling holidays and flights are required to hold an Atol, which protects customers with pre-booked holidays from being stranded abroad in the event of circumstances such as the company ceasing to trade.