Monarch Airlines: 550 Birmingham Airport jobs safe after £165m funding boost
The future of 550 Monarch employees at Birmingham Airport has been secured after the airline received a £165 million cash injection from its owner.
Monarch, which runs a 110,000 sq ft aircraft maintenance facility as well as its daily holiday flights in Birmingham, received the funding boost from owner Greybull Capital, allowing it to retain its licence to operate.
The airline had faced a midnight deadline to obtain fresh funding or risk being unable to renew its crucial Atol licence.
The scheme compensates travellers in full and ensures they are not stranded if a holiday company collapses; without it Monarch would not have been able to sell package holidays.
Monarch's future had been cast into doubt over the past weeks, with the firm forced to deny "negative speculation" that it was in financial trouble.
But on Wednesday the group said that, alongside the investment - the biggest in its 48-year history - Monarch would take delivery of the first of 30 Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft in 2018.
Chief executive Andrew Swaffield said the investment means the firm is in "great shape" and that the group is now "firmly focused on the future as a stronger Monarch".
However, he added that the company is preparing for a "challenging market" as the slump in sterling and a rise in terrorism dogs the industry, with profit set to be dented as a result.
"We believe the market will remain challenging over the next few years," Mr Swaffield said.
Greybull acquired a controlling stake in Monarch in 2014, but the group has struggled financially.
The firm booked a £19.2 million pre-tax profit in the 12 months to the end of October 2015 following a £57.3 million loss a year earlier, according to accounts filed at Companies House.
A CAA spokesman said: "The CAA has renewed Monarch's Atol licences until the end of September 2017 following confirmation that all licence requirements have been met.
"Monarch's licences permit them to sell Atol-protected holidays until 30 September 2017, after which they will be required to obtain a new licence in line with the annual process for all Atol-protected companies."
Mr Swaffield will speak at the annual convention of travel organisation Abta in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, organisers said.
He cancelled a scheduled appearance at the event on Tuesday, which a Monarch spokesman said was due to him having "business to attend to in the UK".
Abta welcomed the announcement that Monarch had retained its licence to operate.
A spokeswoman for the organisation said: "Monarch is one of the UK's best-known, most established travel brands and has been operating successfully for the past 48 years.
"It is very good news not only for Monarch, its staff and customers but for the travel industry as a whole."
