Thousands of Israelis affected as Monarch Airlines collapses

LONDON — British short-haul carrier Monarch Airlines ceased trading suddenly Monday following a financial collapse, the biggest failure of its kind in Britain, prompting the government into emergency action in returning home 110,000 stranded passengers.

While Britain was making arrangements to fly back its nationals from countries including Israel, hundreds of Israelis were said to be stranded in the UK, and thousands more Israelis had their holiday plans placed in doubt.

According to a report on the Marker website, thousands of Israelis who bought tickets on Monarch for vacations over the Sukkot holiday were not being told definitively on Monday what would become of these reservations — whether their money would be refunded, alternative flights offered, or other arrangements made.

Furthermore, the report said, hundreds of Israelis who were scheduled to fly home from the UK via Luton Airport on Monday afternoon were scrambling to find alternative arrangements after that flight was canceled. Monarch traditionally operates six flights a week from Israel to the UK at this time of year.

Monarch and its vacation business entered administration, a form of bankruptcy, with KPMG appointed to oversee the financial chaos that has left about 2,100 staff likely having to find new employment.

The airline had been struggling financially for a while and won a cash injection a year ago that allowed it to continue flying holidaymakers and fund growth plans, as the sector faced turbulence from Brexit and terrorism.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority described Monday’s events as “the biggest ever UK airline failure,” adding that “all future holidays and flights provided by these companies have been cancelled and are no longer operating.”

It added in a statement that “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.”

Passengers are being flown back from numerous countries, including Israel, France, Greece, and Turkey on aircraft leased by the CAA.

In total, about 410,000 customers are affected by Monarch going into administration, including 300,000 with future bookings, the CAA said.

Qatar Airways had sent A320 aircraft on request by the CAA to repatriate holidaymakers, according to online flight-tracker Flightradar24.

‘Biggest peacetime repatriation’

The government said that it was overseeing what it said was the biggest repatriation since the end of World War II.

“This is a hugely distressing situation for British holidaymakers abroad and my first priority is to help them get back to the UK,” Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said in a statement.

“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.”

He added: “This is an unprecedented response to an unprecedented situation.”

But the Unite union hit back, saying ministers rebuffed requests by Monarch — Britain’s tenth largest airline according to Euromonitor International — to provide a bridging loan.

“Monarch’s workforce has worked tirelessly and loyally, with great sacrifice, to try and turn the airline around in the last year,” said senior Unite official Oliver Richardson.

“Their hard work has been undone by a government seemingly content to sit on its hands and allow one of the UK’s oldest airlines go into administration.”

‘Ryanair’s gain’

The first plane to arrive back in the UK carried 165 passengers from Ibiza.

Affected parties used social media to get their messages across, mirroring a situation a week ago when Ryanair canceled thousands of flights as it battled to overcome a shortage of pilots.

“Monarch customers in the UK: don’t go to the airport. There will be no more Monarch flights,” the budget carrier said on Twitter.

Meanwhile customer Holly-Rae Copeland‏ tweeted: “Just when you think you’ve avoided ryanair’s flight cancellations, #monarchairlines go into administration on the day of your flight.”

KPMG partner and joint administrator, Blair Nimmo, said “mounting cost pressures and increasingly competitive market conditions in the European short-haul market have contributed to the Monarch Group experiencing a sustained period of trading losses.”

Monarch’s collapse meanwhile boosted the share prices of bigger rivals.

“Usually what’s bad for one airline — higher fuel costs, terror attacks, air traffic control strikes — are bad for the sector,” noted Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital.

“But the failure of Monarch is good news for rivals. Shares in Ryanair and EasyJet both rose about three percent in early trading as the market reacted to the news of the demise of Monarch after 50 years in business.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this story.