How Monarch lost its crown

Brexit, terrorism and a cut-throat market are blamed for the airline’s collapse

Monarch airlines collapse
A grounded Monarch aeroplane at Luton Airport this morning
(Image credit: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)

The UK’s fifth-biggest airline went into administration on Monday as a “perfect storm” of terrorist attacks, travel warnings and the fall in sterling left Monarch Airlines unable to compete in the aggressive tour operator market.

Chief executive Andrew Swaffield said the “root cause” of the airline’s decline was a combination of terrorist attacks in Egypt and Tunisia, and the “decimation” of Turkey following last year’s attempted coup.

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