BRITS left stranded by Monarch’s folding yesterday have been locked out of their hotel rooms and threatened with arrest over the airline’s unpaid bills.

 Roland De Gouveia and partner Sarah Macbeth were told they would be thrown out of their hotel room
STUCK: Roland and Sarah

The UK airline has left 110,000 Brits stuck abroad with emergency flights being chartered by the government to bring them home.

Stranded tourists say they have been confronted by hotel bosses in Spain who threatened to throw them out unless they pay Monarch’s outstanding bills.

Roland De Gouveia, from Reading in the UK, claims his group of 17 holidaymakers staying at the Hotel Beatriz Costa & Spa in Lanzarote have been ordered to pay around £9,000 or they will be locked out of their rooms.

The 41-year-old is not due to fly home until Friday and says other British groups in his hotel have been threatened with eviction.

He told the Sun Online: “It’s been getting pretty heated. We were told by the hotel that they are owed £9,000 and we will be out if we can’t pay.

“They even threatened to lock the doors and keep our stuff, which as you can imagine we weren’t having any of. Now we’re keeping our passports on us in case they throw us out.

 Around 58,000 passengers - the majority from Spain - are set to be flown home by Friday
STRANDED: Monarch passengers across Europe, infogrpahic courtesy of the Sun

 

“The hotel say Monarch don’t pay them until 90 days after the stay and they won’t be getting any money.

“People have been very angry and we’ve had to threaten to call the Guardia Civil if they take any of our stuff.

“I’ve called the Civil Aviation Authority who have said ‘enjoy your holiday, we’ll speak to the hotel’ but no-one seems to have heard from them since.”

Another tourist claimed he had been ordered to pay £3,000 by a Benidorm hotel after being locked out of his room.

He said: “We were told we were no longer staying at the hotel until we paid the bill for the two rooms in full.

“Eventually we were let back in overnight but told in no uncertain terms the bill is still outstanding.

“We have been told two other Monarch customers have paid the money but I’ve said I won’t be paying.

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“We are supposed to be leaving tomorrow but the stress has completely ruined our holiday. We have no idea what’s going to happen in the coming days.”

Monarch, Britain’s fifth biggest airline, is headquartered in Luton and has been in operation since 1986. .

Mike Heald, 36, from Cheshire told the Mail Online that the Rubicon Place hotel in Lanzarote threatened to call the cops if they didn’t pay £3,300, which they claim Monarch hasn’t handed over.

He said: “We haven’t heard anything at all from Monarch but saw on the news it had gone bust.

“I went to reception to check about transfer or taxi to the airport tomorrow and it became clear that Monarch had not paid the hotel the £3,300 we paid them in advance three or four months ago.

“We were told that if we left without paying we would be arrested. The British consulate have advised that we should just pay. I tried the CAA website but it kept failing.

“We’ll need to borrow the money from home. I’m massively p***** off but if there if is a choice between going to a cell or being with my wife and daughter then I’ll find the money.”

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it will cover the cost of those asked to pay again by their hotel and that holidaymakers should keep receipts.

It added that tourists will have to claim from their insurer if they book to stay at a hotel longer due to their flight being rearranged.

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1 COMMENT

  1. So sorry for everyone being caught up in this airline collapse. I am, and due to fly out on 5’th October, but I have a holiday home and retired so everyone else should come first. Sorry for the airline staff too. Here in Mallorca with the issues this year of immigration queues, anti tourist Demo’s that received UK publicity and complaints by the Balearic government of too many tourists, the poor sterling exchange rate, the inevitable rise in air fares and overall political uncertainty I wonder if tourist numbers will take a hit next year. Big sympathies, also, for local restaurants and bars who see the all inclusive hotels showing their influence and the private rentals being hit with huge fines if not legally registered so fewer tourists again. Not a rosy outlook for 2018? I still love Spain and the Spanish people though. Great lifestyle and the sun helps! Good luck.

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