Monarch Airlines ceases trading with immediate effect

MONARCH Airlines, the largest ever airline to enter administration, has ceased trading with immediate effect, leaving 110,000 customers overseas and in the region of 300,000 future bookings cancelled.

The Government has asked CAA to charter more than 30 aircraft to bring back to the UK #Monarch #Airlines customers currently overseas and has warned Monarch customers in the UK and yet to travel: don't go to the airport. There will be no more Monarch flights.

Advice for Monarch customers abroad is that everyone due to fly in the next fortnight will be brought back to the UK at no cost to them. There is no need to cut short your stay but all affected customers should check new website monarch.caa.co.uk for more information.

All future Monarch Airlines bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled following a decision by the company's board to cease trading.

Due to the unprecedented number of UK consumers currently overseas who are affected by this airline administration, the CAA and Government are securing a fleet of more than 30 aircraft, flying to more than 30 airports, to bring 110,000 people back to the UK at no cost to them. This is the equivalent of operating, at very short notice, one of the UK's largest airlines.

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Monarch expands summer schedule

UK AIRLINE group #Monarch has announced the addition of #flights and #holidays to its summer 2016 schedule. The expansion includes two new routes: Manchester, London Gatwick and Birmingham to Lisbon, and Birmingham to Madrid. 

Monarch also said that an additional Airbus A320 aircraft will be based at Birmingham Airport for summer 2016. This brings the total number of aircraft flying for Monarch to 35, with nine based at Birmingham.

The new flight services from Birmingham to Madrid will commence on June 17, operating thrice weekly, while the new Birmingham-Lisbon route will start from June 20, with four services per week. The fares start from £79 for both. The Manchester-Lisbon route starts on May 5, while Gatwick-Lisbon will start on May 3, both operating three flights per week with fares starting from £69.

Following the launch of flights from London Luton earlier this month, a new route from Manchester to Tel Aviv will start on April 19, operating thrice weekly with fares starting from £110.

The extended summer 2016 schedule also includes additional services to several of the airline’s most popular destinations such as Malaga, Alicante, Majorca, and Tenerife.

www.monarch.co.uk.

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Monarch extends Sharm el-Sheikh cancellation period

MONARCH has extended its Sharm el-Sheikh flight cancellation period from January 6 to January 24 as the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Transport Department continue to advise against all but essential air travel to the Egyptian holiday resort. 

‘Monarch has taken this proactive decision to allow our customers to make alternative holiday plans as soon as possible,’ said the company in a statement.

Customers affected by the change are entitled to change their booking to a later date or re-book to another destination in the Monarch network. Affected travellers can also request a refund or a credit note towards future travel. 

For customers looking for an alternative destination, Monarch has additional flights to mainland Spain, Faro, Gibraltar, and Tenerife.

Monarch continues to operate to the Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Eilat, as well as Cyprus, the Canary Islands, Agadir, and Madeira this winter.

UK airlines and operators had to fly more than 16,500 holidaymakers home following the downing of the Russian Metrojet Airbus which killed all 224 people on board and subsequent security issues at the Red Sea resort airport.

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Israel bids for winter sun & city break tourists

THE LAUNCH of direct flights to Eilat and Tel Aviv next month will help to re-position #Israel as a #wintersun and #citybreak destination for the UK market, says the country’s tourism chief.

Monarch will begin weekly services from Luton to Eilat every Thursday, and three times a week to Tel Aviv, from December 3 until April 2016.

Says Amir Halevi, director general of the Israel Ministry of Tourism: ‘The city break is becoming very popular now with the rise of low-cost airlines, but this year we have more than six times the number of weekly flights to Eilat from around Europe, so it’s becoming better known as a winter sun destination.’

Israel has seen an 8% rise in visitor numbers from the UK so far this year, and is investing in a new international airport for Eilat, due to open in 2016, as well as hotel development and plans for a casino to be built on the site of the current airport.

The Dead Sea will also see a significant increase in the number of hotels, with 5,000 rooms to be added over the next five years.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7559746@N05/5149016776">Panorâmica 13</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Monarch Airlines launches two routes to Israel

MONARCH AIRLINES has announced two new scheduled routes to #Israel from Luton Airport. The airline will start flying to Tel Aviv and Ovda (the gateway to Eilat) in December. 

The #directflights will operate three times a week to Tel Aviv (Monday, Thursday and Sunday) and once a week, on a Thursday, to Ovda. The flight time is five hours.

The airline previously operated flights to Israel as part of its charter service.

Andrew Swaffield, chief executive, Monarch Group, says: ‘These two new scheduled routes are the result of the ongoing work we are doing to develop our winter programme which showcases a number of winter sun and ski destinations.

‘Tel Aviv and Ovda are growing in popularity once more with tourists, and with the diverse offerings of both these destinations we are sure they will be a very popular choice for winter short breaks and holidays. We are also looking forward to welcoming visitors from Israel to the UK.’

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20849923@N00/3396071661">Airbus A321-231, Monarch Airlines, Manchester - Int. (Ringway) (MAN / EGCC) 29.03.09</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Up in the air …

Monarch Airlines has expanded its schedule for summer 2016. New routes from Leeds Bradford to Malaga and Manchester to Gran Canaria are part of Monarch Airlines’ expanded schedule for summer 2016. Extra frequencies have been added from Birmingham to Gibraltar and Ibiza; Gatwick to Ibiza, Rhodes, Paphos, and Verona; Leeds Bradford to Naples; and Manchester to Ibiza.

Flybe has released its 2015-16 winter schedules to and from Stansted and Bournemouth Airport. Its thrice daily service to the Isle of Man from Stansted, which was launched in March, will continue to operate between October 25, 2015 and March 26, 2016, making it a year-round route. Flybe’s winter schedule from Bournemouth will include six routes to Amsterdam, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Dublin, Glasgow, Jersey, and Manchester.

United Airlines will be offering its customers from Northern Ireland a year-round non-stop service from Belfast to Newark, New York.


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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8269539@N04/9648446330">Monarch Airlines</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license),http://www.flickr.com/photos/27828336@N00/3519634225">Flybe</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license)