Plans are being made to help the tens of thousands of passengers who could potentially be stranded as Monarch airlines teeters on the brink of financial collapse. The budget airline, which has been in financial trouble for a while, was given an extension until today (October 1) before its Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (Atol) expires.

This will give the troubled company time to sell more Atol-protected holidays, which will cover customers in the future. But the Government is worried Monarch may not be able to fulfil its current obligations should it close and have reportedly started planning for a ‘mass passenger repatriation’.

In total ten Qatar Airways planes have been put on standby and extra staff have apparently been brought into help in cities Monarch operates in. Monarch passenger Lynda Green, from Stanmore, London, is worried she will be stranded after visiting a friend in Turkey. The 65-year-old is meant to fly home tomorrow to be reunited with her family. She told Mail Online: ‘My main concern is about getting home. We should be flying tomorrow at 9.55pm and we’ve had no contact with Monarch yet. ‘I have a flight to Dublin on Friday and I might have to buy an easyJet to Stansted and not Luton, where we need to be.’ ‘We don’t know anything at the moment and we are waiting for the CAA to make a decision.’

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which is also involved in making contingency plans, will decide whether to grant a further extension to the airline’s Atol at 4pm today. It said: ‘We can confirm that Atol protection will remain available for eligible holiday bookings made with Monarch on Sunday.’ It is the second time in two years Monarch has been given a temporary extension to its licence.

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