Monarch’s administrators are seeking a judicial review in a bid to cling on to the failed airline’s most valuable assets.
The Financial Times reports that its take-off and landing slots could be worth as much as £60 million.
Blair Nimmo, partner at KMPG and joint administrator of Monarch, told the newspaper: “Given the complexity of the slot exchange process, we are seeking a judicial review on this particular matter.”
The announcement was on the day that Airport Coordination Limited, an independent slot allocation company, is due to tell airlines which UK slots they have the right to use for the summer 2018 flying schedule.
If Monarch owners – private equity group Greybull Capital – were able to keep hold of the slots, it could stand to claw back a large chunk of its investment.
The FT suggests Greybull could even make a profit on its investment if it gets a good price for the sought-after slots at its bases, which include Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds Bradford airports.
Rival airlines easyJet and British Airways are said to be ready for a bidding war for control of Monarch’s slots at Gatwick.
Whether KPMG is able to sell the slots is still up for debate and commentators say it depends on whether Monarch is still deemed to have an operating licence.
Nimmo also told the FT that it would be “in the wider public interest” for KPMG to retain the rights to sell the slots.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has previously called for Greybull to foot part of the £60 million bill for repatriating 110,000 of Monarch’s customers who were left without flights back to the UK following the collapse.