Over 100,000 customers have woken up in far flung holiday destinations this morning to find their airline has gone bust and the home leg of their trip has been cancelled. A further 300,000 bookings with Monarch involving up to three quarters of a million passengers are not going to take place but the immediate concern is to get those abroad now, with no return flight, back home.

The CAA ( Civil Aviation Authority) have organised a rescue fleet for all those involved.

While Monarch business in general increased by 14 % last year, three of their key markets, Turkey Egypt and Tunisia, were affected by terror incidents, causing a huge drop in people considering those destinations and greatly responsible for a near £300 million loss in the last reporting period to October 2016. Increases in fuel prices were also blamed for the loss of earnings, together with a weak pound.