Monarch Airlines will cease flying from East Midlands airport next April as the carrier begins a revamp of its network and move to solely scheduled flying.
The carrier announced the move this morning as part of a strategic review led by new group chief executive Andrew Swaffield.
Monarch only began operating from East Midlands in 2012. Travel Weekly revealed yesterday that Monarch would cease charter flying next year.
The carrier said it would focus on offering “greater flight frequency and more sociable departure times to short-haul European destinations from its main UK bases”.
Monarch said the airline would add more flights to its programme for summer 2015 in coming months.
Swaffield said: “Monarch’s success in the future depends upon delivering the best possible operation and quality of service at sustainable levels of profitability.
“It is for these reasons we are taking important decisions to reshape our base network and flying schedule next year.
“As holiday habits change, our customers want a greater choice of flight times and destinations – particularly for short breaks.
“As we evolve to become a scheduled European low-cost carrier we are becoming more focussed in the services we offer.”
He added: “I would like to thank all our customers who have used Monarch’s services at East Midlands Airport in the two years we have been there.
“I would also like to pay tribute to our employees.”
The carrier currently operates 34 flights a week from the airport to nine destinations, mainly in and around the Mediterranean.
Monarch’s base at Birmingham is the nearest alternative for customers.
Swaffield aims to complete Monarch Airlines’ transformation into a scheduled European low-cost carrier in advance of the arrival of a new fleet of Boeing 737 MAX8s which should enter service from 2018.
The order for 30 aircraft was announced in July.