Monarch wins appeal over UK airport slots

Despite ceasing operations in October, Monarch has won its appeal concerning its right to retain valuable airport slots, in turn providing a boost for administrators, KPMG, responsible for recovering money for creditors. The slots in question are at London’s Luton and Gatwick Airports and have an estimated value of around £60 million (US$80 million).
“We are delighted with the ruling,” said Blair Nimmo, partner at KPMG and joint administrator. “We will now progress the slot exchange transactions we have underway, whose buyers will be announced at completion.”
The initial High Court ruling on November 8 stated that as the airline had no planes and had retained only three trained pilots, who held management positions, the Airport Coordination Limited (ACL) – an independent slot co-ordination company – had no duty to assign it slots for summer 2018. Subsequent to the ruling, the civil Aviation Authority (CAA) revoked Monarch’s operating license.
However, the Court of Appeal ruling found that despite this, Monarch was still an air carrier when slots fell to be allocated last month and in fact remains one.
Judge Guy Newey said in the ruling: “It may be a failed air transport undertaking but that need not stop it being an air transport undertaking.”
EasyJet (EZJ.L), IAG (ICAG.L), Wizz (WIZZ.L) and Norwegian (NWC.OL) have all expressed interest in the slots at the London airports. The High Court ruling that Manchester and Birmingham slots should be returned immediately to the slot pool to be re-assigned by the ACL was unaffected by Wednesday’s appeal.