Owner of failed Monarch should contribute to repatriation, says minister

The owner of failed British airline Monarch should, in principle, foot some of the bill for a massive repatriation effort co-ordinated by the country’s aviation authority, British transport minister Chris Grayling said Monday. Monarch collapsed two weeks ago, wrecking the holiday plans of hundreds of thousands of Britons, a year after owner Greybull Capital secured a bailout for the struggling airline. Asked by lawmakers whether Greybull Capital should contribute to the costs of returning tourists to Britain, Grayling said that if the investment firm ends up with a gain after the administration process, a payment towards repatriation costs would demonstrate goodwill. “There’s no formal legal mechanism that we can use, but in terms of the principle I completely agree,” Grayling said. “I would hope that if any of the creditors end up with money in pocket, whether they might indeed consider doing that.” He also said it could take weeks to determine how much money might be recovered from credit card companies and insurers. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Monday said that it had completed its programme to repatriate the 110,000 Monarch customers who were abroad when the airline went bust, which is estimated to have cost the government around GBP60m. However Grayling said that any contribution from Greybull Capital could depend on how the administration process played out.<br/>