Monarch Airlines has offered almost £36,000 in cash to passengers stranded at Sharm el-Sheikh for 48 hours last week following problems with an aircraft.
The carrier will pay £100 each to the 358 passengers involved. However, Monarch denied reports that passengers had been given inadequate supplies of water and soft drinks.
The Monarch charter was due to depart for Gatwick late on Sunday May 25 when a problem was detected with the aircraft’s hydraulics. A part was flown from Cairo, but failed to fix it. A part flown from the UK the next day also failed, forcing Monarch to fly out a replacement aircraft for a return on May 27.
A Monarch spokeswoman said: “We have offered a £100 payment per passenger as a goodwill gesture, plus reasonable expenses.”
She pointed out the airline was not liable for compensation and said media reports suggesting passengers had been abandoned were inaccurate.
“Passengers were given refreshment vouchers at the airport,” she said. “They had breakfast and lunch at their hotels on Monday before leaving for the airport, then breakfast and lunch the next day. They were well fed and watered.”
She said there had been a delay in accommodating people on the first night because “we only put passengers in four or five-star hotels” and rooms were hard to find. The spokeswoman conceded there had been a limited choice of refreshments at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.