Monarch pushed flight sale just THREE DAYS before going bust
The airline sent text messages out on Friday advertising a seat sale
MONARCH pushed a flight sale just THREE days before it went bust.
The airline sent out a text message encouraging people to book flights to Spain and Portugal on Friday night.
It said: ";Hooray for payday! Find the feeling with 1000s of seats at £30 to Spain and Portugal".
Other customers also said that they had been sent emails advertising a sale last week.
The UK's fifth biggest airline was locked in survival talks over the weekend to prevent the collapse.
Despite being given a 24-hour extension to its licence the airline made the announcement that it had gone into administration in the early hours of Monday morning.
On Saturday the airline was accused of quadrupling the cost of its flights.
Its collapse - the largest ever in the UK to go bust - has left 111,000 overseas.
The Civil Aviation Authority has charged more than 30 new flights to help stranded passengers.
But the vast majority of those who have booked flights will not be able to get their money back from the airline.
They must instead apply for a refund from their bank or insurer.
What to do if you're a Monarch customer
THESE are the guidelines which have been issued by the Civil Aviation Authority this morning.
- Customers in the UK yet to travel: don't go to the airport
- Customers abroad: 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
- Customers currently overseas should check for confirmation of their new flight details - which will be available a minimum of 48 hours in advance of their original departure time
- All affected customers should keep checking for more information
- The CAA also has a 24-hour helpline: 0300 303 2800 from the UK and Ireland and +44 1753 330330 from overseas
- You should expect to be flown as close as possible to your planned departure dates, no earlier, and prepare for disruption to journeys.
- There will be no online check-in. You will be issued with a new flight and new boarding card and will not be able to check in with your old flight details
Administrators KPMG say a total of 860,000 passengers will be affected by the closure.
The airline, whose headquarters are at London Luton Airport, was founded in 1968.
The company employs approximately 2,750 predominantly UK based staff.
UK travel firms selling holidays and flights are required to hold an Atol , which protects customers with pre-booked holidays from being stranded abroad in the event of circumstances such as the company ceasing to trade.
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