An MP has piled praise on staff at Manchester Airport for its part in the biggest repatriation in peacetime following the administration of airline Monarch.
Tatton MP Esther McVey said staff had worked tirelessly to ensure holidaymakers stranded abroad got home.
Speaking in Parliament she said: “Following on from the many letters I have received from constituents would the Secretary of State join with me in thanking and congratulating the staff of the Civil Aviation Authority, the Department of Transport and also my local airport Manchester Airport for the work they have done for the biggest evaluation in peacetime.”
In the early hours of October 2 Monarch’s board took the decision to place it into administration and cease trading, leaving 110,000 passengers stranded abroad with no return flight and the loss of 2,000 jobs.
The largest operation of its kind is still underway and includes 27 different airlines working together to run 700 flights to bring people home and hundreds of call centre staff fielding more than 39,000 calls. As of Sunday night around 80,000 passengers had been returned to the UK – about three-quarters of those at the time of collapse.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “I pay tribute to staff at Manchester Airport. I met the first plane back from Manchester Airport and they really rode in behind the challenge. They were only notified late the previous day by Monday morning they had staff out greeting passengers, telling them what had happened, sorting out all the issues arising from the administration, so I owe a big debt of gratitude to the staff of Manchester Airport, Gatwick Airport, Luton Airport and Leeds-Bradford Airport all of whom rose to the occasion and also to all the other people and organisations involved in the exercise.”
Mr Grayling said despite the robust plans in place the situation is hugely distressing for all involved and his priorities were to help passengers abroad and find alternative employment within the industry for the affected Monarch workers.
He said: “I am pleased to report that airlines have already been directly appealing toMonarch’s former employees. Virgin Atlantic is offering a fast track recruitment process for cabin crew and pilots and easyJet have invited applications for 500 cabin crew vacancies.EasyJet are also calling for direct-entry Captains or First Officer.