British leisure airline Monarch has successfully concluded discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority to extend its ATOL license.
The company has also received significant further investment from shareholders and is close to announcing the largest investment in its 48-year history.
“Monarch continues to fly and looks forward to welcoming customers on board”, the airline said in a statement.
Andrew Swaffield, Chief Executive Officer of The Monarch Group, commented:
“I am delighted that we have been able to come to an agreement with the CAA on the extension of Monarch’s ATOL licence and am excited about the additional capital coming into the group which will help us fund our future growth. I am immensely proud of the professionalism of the Monarch team.”
This follows recent rumours that Monarch Airlines was going bust. Speculation was said to have started over the previous weekend and was brought to light by customers on the company’s Twitter feed.
The British leisure airline carried 5.7 million passengers during 2015, a 19% decrease compared with 2014.
The Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement:
“The CAA has granted Monarch a 12 day extension to its existing ATOL licences. The extended licences will now expire at 23:59 on 12 October 2016. The CAA was able to do this by requiring the shareholder to provide additional funding and because customers’ money will be protected".
“Monarch now has 12 days to satisfy the CAA that the group is able to meet the requirements for a full ATOL licence. Monarch will remain ATOL licensed until this extension expires. During this period of extension, the CAA will continue to monitor the company.”