The Monarch Is Dead...And So Is Air Berlin And Niki

“Important! Monarch has stopped operating. Please do not go to the airport.” A simple enough message but one that Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was forced to send out. The October 2, 2017 message was blunt but what else could the CAA do when the 49-year-old Monarch airline stopped flying.

The airline’s unions set out desperate calls for financial help from the government but no one came forward. Monarch did not meet the financial standards required to renew its Air Travel Organisers’ Licence (ATOL), despite a 24-hour extension by the CAA from midnight of September 30, 2017 to midnight of October 1, 2017. It was at 4.00 a.m. on October 2 (when no aircraft were in the air) that KPMG was asked to act as liquidators.

Not only was that the end of 2,750 staff of the airline but it was also the end of tens of millions of holidayers to Europe and beyond. Andrew Swaffield, Monarch’s Chief Executive, was quick to blame terrorism. “The root cause is the closure, due to terrorism, of Sharm-El-Sheikh and Tunisia and the decimation of Turkey,” he wrote in a letter to the staff. He went on point out that “since 2015 we’ve seen yields collapse by a quarter, resulting in £160mn less revenue. This has especially affected Spain and Portugal which is 80 percent of our business.” He also said that this year the airline carried 14 percent more passengers than last year but it was for £100mn less revenue. For his staffers, Swaffield thanked them for their service and loyalty and said, “I am truly sorry that it has ended like this.”

It was on October 2, 2017 that Monarch sent out a message saying that companies owned by it had ceased trading and entered administration. These were:

Monarch Airlines Ltd

Monarch Holidays Ltd

First Aviation Ltd previously trading as Monarch Airlines

Avro Ltd

Somewhere2stay Ltd

With their end, all holidays and flights provided by the companies were cancelled and would no longer operate.