Monarch has been granted 24-hour ‘stay of execution’ but the airline could nose dive by Monday

Will Monarch go bust?

Britain’s fifth largest airline has been given a reprieve by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Saturday, to sell holidays for an additional 24-hours.

The consumer is only protected for holidays purchased on Sunday, at this time, the CAA said that they will update customers on a day by day basis.

A CAA statement said: “The Atol renewal process is ongoing and the CAA will conclude the processing of applications from approximately 1,300 Atol holders in the next 24 hours.

“In certain circumstances this could require a temporary extension to complete this process.

“In line with our usual practice, we will not comment on the specifics of any Atol holder’s application until such time as the process has reached a resolution.

“However, we can confirm that Atol protection will remain available for eligible holiday bookings made with Monarch on Sunday.

“The CAA will provide a daily update with regard to the protection that is available to Monarch’s customers.”

Whatever the future date of travel is the consumer is ATOL protected for holidays bought on Sunday.

Given the uncertainty of Monarch’s finances, analysts have said it is unclear as to whether or not this “stay of execution” will do anything.

The airline employs more than 2,700 staff and 800 are employed by their engineering business, WizzAir and easyJet have bid for parts of the company and most likely the engineering business will continue to trade under a new owner.

Financial statements have revealed losses for the year to last October amounting to £317m however, insiders have said there are still tens of millions on the balance sheets meaning the CAA could wind it down as a solvent business.