Mallorca hotels covered by ATOL from hefty bill after Monarch collapse as 40,000 Brits’ flights cancelled

HOTELS in the Balearic Islands faced will be covered after Monarch’s collapse, the UK government has confirmed.

A Foreign Office spokesperson told the Olive Press the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (ATOL) would refund hoteliers left out of pocket after 40,000 Brits’ flights were cancelled.

Hoteliers in Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca had been concerned they faced debts which could run into millions.

“ATOL will cover all the costs of the hotels,” an Foreign Office spokesperson said.

“For those who booked holidays, Monarch had ATOL protection.”

Since Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been flying Brits home after the UK’s fifth biggest carrier went to the wall.

The airline’s implosion had left hotel groups in Spain concerned over unpaid holiday bills.

“Monarch’s debt in some hotel chains is on average €300,000, although there are some that exceed half a million euros,” a legal source told Ultima Hora.

Brits have been scrambling to find alternative flights since Monarch went to the wall on Monday.

But travellers who booked flights on a debit card have no guarantee they will get a refund.

Around 40% of 300,000 Monarch bookings have been made with a debit card, with the airline not legally obliged to repay customers’ banks.

Several hundred Monarch flights have been cancelled between the Balearics and the UK.