Monarch administrator seeks judicial review over slot sales

The administrator for collapsed airline Monarch is seeking a judicial review to allow it to sell the ill-fated carrier's take-off and landing slots.

KPMG has faced questions over whether it is legally permitted to sell the slots as part of attempts to recoup cash for creditors, and on Thursday said it will initiate court action.

Blair Nimmo, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: "Given the complexity of the slot exchange process, we are seeking a judicial review on this particular matter.

"In addition to assisting the joint administrators fulfil their statutory duties, we believe this to be in the wider public interest, with the intention of resolving this matter quickly and with the greatest chance of maximising the continued use of the slots."

Monarch, which was owned by private equity firm Greybull Capital, collapsed last month, leading to 1,858 workers being made redundant and the flights and holidays of about 860,000 people being cancelled.

Greybull cited a highly-competitive market, terrorism and the plunge in the value of the pound as factors leading to its demise.

KPMG is attempting to offload Monarch's assets, with its take-off and landing slots by far the most valuable.

Jet2, Norwegian Air Shuttle, IAG, Wizz Air and easyJet are all understood to be vying for the slots, which span Manchester, Gatwick, Birmingham, Luton and Leeds-Bradford.

Separately, Greybull has come under heavy fire from MP Frank Field, who has claimed the group could walk away with millions from the wreckage.

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