Resurrection of Monarch Airlines fails to take off

The new company said it did not have enough money to continue.

Neil Lancefield
Thursday 31 August 2023 11:03 EDT
Plans to resurrect Monarch Airlines six years after it failed have collapsed due to a lack of money (Steve Parsons/PA)
Plans to resurrect Monarch Airlines six years after it failed have collapsed due to a lack of money (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Plans to resurrect Monarch Airlines six years after it failed have collapsed due to a lack of money.

A company named Monarch Airlines Limited launched a website and activity on social media earlier this morning, pledging to “usher in a new era for one of the UK’s favourite travel brands”.

We have been seeking alternative routes

Monarch Airlines Limited

But on Thursday, a statement from its board read: “It is with immense regret that we announce today that we have been forced to put the brakes on our process to relaunch Monarch.

“This is not a decision that we have taken lightly, however since taking over the business two weeks ago we have drawn close to exhausted (sic) the start-up funding provided to us far more rapidly than anticipated.

“We have been seeking alternative routes, such as partial divestment of share capital, and will continue to do so, however at the current stage there is no practical option to move forward in the immediate future.”

This was just one day after Daniel Ellingham, chairman of the new company, wrote on LinkedIn: “We are redesigning Team Monarch alongside our strategic brand partner to bring a new and ‘Great British’ crown to UK skies.”

It is not known who was investing in the business plan.

When the original Monarch collapsed in October 2017, it was Britain’s fifth-largest airline carrying up to six million passengers a year.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in