Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much progress has been made in recovering from the owners of Monarch Airlines the costs incurred by UK taxpayers in repatriating that airline’s passengers.

The Government has made good progress in recovering monies from a variety of sources including credit card companies and tour operators. We are grateful for the companies that have contributed to the costs of repatriating their customers, demonstrating their corporate social responsibility and encourage others to follow their example.

In October 2017 we estimated that the total cost of the repatriation operation would be £60m. The actual cost of the repatriation operation is currently estimated to be about £50m and we do not expect this number to change significantly. Following on from the experience of Monarch, the Secretary of State for Transport commissioned an independent Airline Insolvency Review which is expected to report by spring 2019.