Monarch’s head of trade sales has thanked agents for their “amazing support” after the collapse of the airline and tour operator.
Simon Garrido was one of more than 1,850 Monarch staff who lost their jobs when the business went into administration in the early hours of Monday.
He said he had been inundated with messages of support from the industry.
“The support that we have had as a brand and to me personally from agents has been amazing. These are agents I have known for about 20 years in the industry, the ones who are having to deal with the aftermath and all the extra work it has created.
“To get the amount of messages on text, email, Twitter, has been pretty overwhelming and has helped keep me going.
“It’s much appreciated, both from a personal point of view and from all the team which has done so well these last few years.”
Garrido said sales on the tour operator side of the business were up 60% year on year. “That might have put us in a little bit of a bubble so it was a real shock at the weekend,” he said. “Everyone was hopeful the (Atol) renewal would go through. Monday was a tough day.
“We have had ups and downs the last few years and it’s been a tough market, but I am an optimistic person. We had the senior team leading negotiations and I was sure they were doing everything they could.”
The plug was pulled at 4am on Monday morning after the final Monarch flight of the evening schedule touched down in Manchester from Tel Aviv.
It is the largest UK airline ever to enter administration and leaves 110,000 people abroad and 300,000 forward bookings that will be cancelled.
Garrido said he is hoping to use his 20 years’ experience working in the sector in his next role and is helping his team members find job leads.
“I am very appreciative of all the support and I hope to repay that kindness when I am back,” he added.