Today Programme
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BBC Radio 5 live

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has also been speaking to BBC 5 live.

“My heart today really goes out to two other groups... Those people turned up to the airport… but also the Monarch staff. I have already spoken to senior figures in the airline industry and been given the message that the Monarch staff are highly regarded and other airlines will hire them very, very quickly.

“Monarch has been a victim of a price war in the Mediterranean.

“We’ve hoped up until the last few days that discussions with other airlines would help secure Monarch’s future."

BBC Breakfast

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling calls the effort to fly Monarch customers home the “biggest peacetime repatriation”.

He tells Breakfast his heart goes out to those affected and he is “deeply deeply sorry”, but the airline's failure was beyond the control of government.

But why were customers still able to book with Monarch as late as last night?

Mr Grayling says it was hoped that "they would sort things out as they did last year", but that was not to be.

BBC Breakfast

Do you get your money back if you have just booked a Monarch flight?’

Blair Nimmo, the KPMG administrator for Monarch, was just on Breakfast and said there were "complicated" rules covering refunds, depending on how you paid.

But he added: "We would very much hope that the vast majority, if not everyone would get their money back."

BBC Radio 5 live

Image source, Reuters

Simon Calder, travel editor for the Independent, tells Radio 5 Live the collapse of Monarch is “heartbreaking news for so many people who have their travel plans wrecked”.

He advises holidaymakers abroad with Monarch not to panic: “You will be brought home more or less on schedule. There is no point in arriving at the airport on the wrong day. Just continue with your holiday.”

Those abroad are in a “strong position” following the rescue flights set up to bring them home, Mr Calder says.

However, the situation is “more distressing” for the 3,000 Monarch employees.

Stewart from Renfrew tells BBC Radio 5 live he booked flights from Manchester to Dalaman in Turkey on Saturday.

"They took my money knowing they might go into administration. I have lost £750 ... I may have to cancel everything, my wife and two boy are going to be gutted," he says.

John Shepherd from Tamworth, has contacted the BBC.

"My cat woke us up at 4am and we turned on the radio and we heard Monarch was in trouble. I was due to fly to Cyprus tomorrow morning with my 92 year old blind dad. He’s had his suitcase packed for three weeks.

"We’ve been very lucky in that we went straight on the internet and have managed to book flights from Manchester to Cyprus – but it’s cost a fair bit of money.

"I’m worried we’ve lost all the money on the flights. We’ve now got to go through rigmarole of contacting the credit card company and seeing if we can get it back.

"I’m amazed a company as big as them has gone so quickly.”

Mike Olley was due to fly back to Birmingham from Malaga today.

"We got a text this morning saying that Monarch had gone out of business. I thought it was a prank. Our flight is at 12:15 back home today. We haven’t got any information on our flight yet.

"Bit of a shock to the system but I am reassured by the assurances of Chris Grayling. The CAA seems very up to speed but I feel sorry for the staff."

BBC Breakfast

John Strickland, an aviation analyst, tells BBC Breakfast that Monarch had a proud history dating back almost half a century - but that the airline market has changed in recent years.

Its new owners in 2014 switched to a low cost, short haul operation but he says it was a "relative minnow" in that market compared with the might of easyJet and Ryanair.

Following the terror attacks in countries such as Egypt and Tunisia, there were too many seats to Mediterranean destinations such as Spain and Portugal.

However, Mr Strickland says there will be value in the landing slots Monarch has at Gatwick in particular, which will bring in some cash for the administrators.

Monarch employs around 3,000 staff who face an uncertain future.

One Live page reader emailed the live page with this:

"Sad news this morning, my brother had lost his job at monarch airlines.

"We have also recently booked a monarch flight after our Ryanair one was cancelled. Now back to the drawing board."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Blair Nimmo, one of the KPMG administrators involved with the Monarch collapse, says there are 300,000 outstanding Monarch bookings that involve about 750,000 people.

"The key focus of the day is the 110,000 people currently overseas," he tells Today.

There are about 2,100 staff - who have not yet been spoken to - but KPMG representatives will be at Monarch's five bases - Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds-Bradford, Mr Nimmo says.

Monarch was loss-making despite flying more customers in the past year. The fall in sterling - given that costs such as plane lease payments and fuel are in US dollars - has not helped either.

While the airline's owners, Greybull Capital, had been trying to find a buyer in recent weeks, no offers were forthcoming, Mr Nimmo adds.

BBC Radio 5 live

Image source, EPA

The government has asked the CAA to bring back stranded Monarch customers over the next two weeks.

But what happens to those who will be abroad beyound that cut-off?

"After that two weeks the government is not bringing people back free of charge and I suggest that anybody who is in that position should go and look on the website," says Dame Deirdre Hutton, chair of the Civil Aviation Authority on Wake up to Money.

"They will have to organise themselves," she says.

Steve Walker from Northampton texts the BBC.

“Travelling to Luton... I was [due] to fly to Sweden to defend my world power lifting title tomorrow.

"Now driving back home. No chance of getting to Sundsvall in time, three months of hard training down the pan. Absolutely gutted.”

BBC 5 live is contacted by Chris from Milton Keynes, who had his Ryanair flight cancelled a couple of weeks ago and now his Monarch flight to Lanzarote in the New Year has been cancelled as well.

BBC Breakfast

Dame Deirdre Hutton, chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, has told anyone booked to on a Monarch flight or holidays not to go to the airport because no planes will be operating.

She tells BBC Breakfast that will be "very distressing" for the 300,000 due to take a Monarch flight in the coming weeks.

Dame Deirdre says there could be “a few bumps and delays on the way”, but is confident that the rescue operation from about 35 destinations will run smoothly.

About 90% of those with future bookings will enjoy some sort of protection through the Atol or other schemes

The CAA has set up a website at monarch.caa.co.uk, external for more information about Monarch's collapse.

BBC Radio 5 live

More from airline analyst Alex Macheras.

"Monarch has long-struggled with where they are in the market. They dabbled both in the low-cost carrier market and in the holiday and leisure market, without being a market leader in either. With that comes fierce competition on one side with Ryanair and Easyjet and competition on the other side with the leading holiday airlines Thompson, TUI, Thomas Cook, Jet 2."

In October of last year Monarch's chief executive Andrew Swaffield told the BBC:

"Building on our successful turnaround we are now able to really approach the future with great confidence."

At the time Mr Swaffield said the airline would make a £40m profit. He also said the airline would be renewing its fleet of aircraft in 2018.

Those of you with good memories might remember that there were concerns about Monarch this time last year.

It was kept going by £165m of investment from investment firm Greybull Capital. That allowed it to renew its membership of the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Atol) scheme - the scheme that refunds customers if a travel firm collapses.

Greybull Capital is Monarch's majority shareholder and is also known for its investment in Scunthorpe's steelworks.

It bought a majority stake in Monarch in 2014, with an investment of £125m.