Licence extension buys Monarch Airlines time

Monarch Airlines, the UK low-cost carrier, has won extra time to finalise details of a cash injection after the aviation regulator granted it a temporary extension to its operating licence. The extension gives the company until October 12 to finalise details of the extra funding it is due to receive from its shareholders, led by Greybull Capital, the investment vehicle of the London-based Meyohas Brothers. The annual renewal of Monarch’s Air Travel Organiser’s Licence, which expired at midnight on September 30, had brought to a head concerns about the company’s financial stability. The company has suffered, like other European airlines, from a combination of economic uncertainty, fears prompted by terrorist incidents and air traffic control disruption in France. The uncertainty forced Monarch on Monday to issue a statement reassuring travellers about its financial health and promising a “significant investment” in the company. The Civil Aviation Authority, which grants Atol certificates, announced the extension on Friday evening, less than four hours before the expiry of the licence, which would have forced Monarch to stop accepting new bookings. The authority said that, in order to issue the extension, it had required the shareholder to provide additional funding. “Monarch now has 12 days to satisfy the CAA that the group is able to meet the requirements for a full Atol licence,” the CAA said.<br/>