Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited (MAEL), following in the footsteps of fellow Greybull-owned enterprise, Monarch Airlines, has gone into administration. According to the liquidators KPMG, MAEL is “unsustainable in its present form,” and who also confirmed that attempts to restructure the firm had failed.
Monarch Airlines collapsed in 2017 with the loss of 1,800 jobs, leading to the cancellation of holidays for over 860,000 people.
Commenting on the situation, KPMG restructuring partner David Pike said that: “Following the administration of other Monarch entities in 2017, MAEL sought to build its customer base to replace the loss of business from the former airline.
“Through the insolvency of the airline however, the company inherited significant debts and claims. Every effort has been made to turn around the business, including launching a CVA which sought to resolve these legacy debts. “Unfortunately, following the CVA, a number of customers reduced or sought to terminate their relationship with MAEL, further adversely impacting the business.”
The Unite union has accused Greybull of failing to discuss the impending failure of the company with MAEL employees and will be seeking legal redress. Unite regional officer Paul Bouch, said: “This is terrible news and a terrible way to start the new year for a group of highly skilled workers. Unite will be offering our maximum support to help those affected by this announcement.
“Unite will also be seeking an urgent meeting with the administrators KPMG and launching legal action on behalf of our members for compensation over a failure to consult.”
Founded in 1967, MAEL employed about 579 staff across Europe and provided aircraft maintenance services across four main divisions – base maintenance, line maintenance, fleet technical support and a training academy.
