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Monarch Airlines tailfin
Photograph: Craig Russell / Shutterstock.com

Six years after it collapsed, this much-loved UK airline could soon return

With a revamped website and new owners, the carrier is poised for a return to the skies

Charmaine Wong
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Charmaine Wong
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Remember Monarch Airlines? Of course you do. Before it went bust in 2017, Monarch was Britain’s oldest airline, a staple for UK holidaymakers and known for flying popular routes at affordable prices. Up until a decade or so ago, it was a very familiar sight at the country’s airports. 

And now, excitingly, Monarch could be making a comeback. Armed with a new owner and a new website, the iconic carrier wants to take to the skies once again. Monarch intends to cement itself as a ‘premium alternative’ to other low-cost UK carriers. 

There isn’t yet much information on when operations will start, but the company has been communicating via a new Twitter/X account and has a newly-assigned chairman, Daniel Ellingham. 

Ellingham said about the relaunch: ‘I am honoured to be able to lead the iconic Monarch brand into a new era, now 55 years after it first took to the skies.

‘It is immensely rewarding to know that we are soon going to launch a new and strong company for the UK tourism sector.’

Monarch collapsed six years ago after failing to gain a renewal of its Air Travel Organiser’s License (ATOL) from the Civil Aviation Authority. 

At present, Monarch Airlines is looking to set up a registered office at its previous home at Luton Airport. If all goes to plan, we imagine we’ll be seeing the carrier’s famed purple and gold planes back at UK airports in no time at all. 

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