The vast majority of Monarch customers will not receive an automatic refund following the firm’s collapse, new figures show.
Administrators KPMG estimates that just 10-15% of the 860,000 customers affected have bookings which are protected by the Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (Atol).
The scheme only covers package holidays or Monarch flight-only bookings made before December 15, meaning hundreds of thousands of people will be forced to seek refunds elsewhere.
Anyone who booked flights costing more than £100 using a credit card can claim a refund under the Consumer Credit Act, while those who bought cheaper flights or used a debit card can apply for a chargeback to get their money back.
Many travel insurance policies will not pay out in the event of an airline going bust but it is worth checking the detail of individual policies, the Civil Aviation Authority said.
More than 23,000 of the 110,000 Monarch customers abroad when the administration decision was announced on Monday were expected to have been repatriated by Tuesday night.
They will all be flown home on as close to a normal schedule as possible at no extra cost until October 15, according to the CAA.
Many travellers are in sunshine destinations in Spain and Portugal such as Costa del Sol, the Algarve and the Canary Islands.
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A further three-quarters of a million people who held future bookings with the firm have had their travel plans cancelled.
CAA chief executive Andrew Haines said: “We recognise that this will be a concerning time for many customers and we really appreciate their support.
“Given the unprecedented scale of this task, some disruption is inevitable. We thank everyone involved for their patience.”
Mr Haines said the CAA was notified by Monarch four-and-a-half weeks ago that “there were issues they were dealing with” and he understood that the firm’s board decided to go into administration close to midnight on Saturday.
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Monarch was still advertising flights on its website on Sunday, meaning some passengers may have booked trips even after the company’s bosses decided it would stop trading.
Administrators KPMG said 1,858 of around 2,100 people employed across Monarch’s airline and tour group had been made redundant after the firm went bust.
Ninety-eight of those made redundant were employed by Monarch Travel Group, while 1,760 were employees of Monarch Airlines.
The remaining employees will help with the administration process, and assist the CAA in bringing holidaymakers abroad back to the UK, KPMG said.
Administrators are now considering breaking up the company, which was founded in 1967, as no buyer has been found to purchase Monarch in its entirety.
The group’s engineering operation, Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited, is not in administration and continues to trade normally.