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British Government Spent $80M Repatriating Monarch PAX, Wants Some of It Back

Passengers stranded by the collapse of the carrier have been repatriated for free, but it has now emerged that the government is asking independent travel operators to shoulder costs.

Britain has reportedly spent £60 ($79) million on the repatriation of passengers stranded by the collapse of Monarch, but a figure within the country’s travel industry has been quoted as saying that he is “disgusted” with the government’s attempts to claw back cash from operators.

Speaking to the Independent, Derek Moore, the chairman of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO), a British travel trade group, said he believed that politics were behind the initial decision to fly stranded travelers home.

“When Monarch goes down, and the majority of seats are seat-only and therefore not covered, I can only assume that because the Conservatives were having a conference, and because they’ve got a slim majority and are not very popular, they decided to take some decisive action. And they ordered that people be flown home,” he said.

The collapse of the carrier, which occurred earlier this month, affected over 100,000 travelers and it has taken two weeks to bring home all passengers. This process occurred free of charge.

It has been reported that returning passengers have been presented with a form that reads, “For the Government to reclaim the cost of this replacement flight direct from ATOL [Air Travel Organizer’s License] or credit and debit card companies, we need to know how you booked your flight.”

Passengers are not required to complete the form, but this cover is compulsory for accommodation and flights sold simultaneously or purchased within two successive days of each other. For purchases booked via an air travel firm, a mandatory £2.50 ($3.31) per head must go to the Air Travel Trust Fund, which serves as a cushion should an ATOL holder suffer financial collapse.

While the government can claim against this fund for flights booked directly via Monarch, Moore has said that travel agents that had engaged the failed firm to fly passengers are now being asked to pay £250 ($331) per head.

An unnamed figure within the British travel industry voiced his opinion, saying, “We have been obediently paying into the ATOL fund […] This now sets a precedent for the next failure.”

[Photo: Shutterstock]

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DaveS October 18, 2017

No one with an ATOL protected flight/holiday can be expected to pay. It's an insurance policy and it does not matter if it is underwritten by the government or Lloyds, they have to pay up when a claim is valid. It's no one else's liability. For non ATOL protected flight only bookings, there may well be a case for making a payment, but I would think that would only be acceptable if the cost was made clear before the flight.

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bigbuy October 18, 2017

The government should bill the passengers for getting them back home or let them find their own way home.