The UK airline Flybe has announced that it has gone into administration, meaning that all their flights are cancelled. Their advice for customers is to avoid going to the airport unless they have an alternative flight booked with another provider.
We know this is a worrying situation, especially for anyone currently abroad. So here's what you can do to get home safely, and what your rights are.
Currently, the only option is to book alternative transport
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) hasn't said that it will be helping to bring anyone home, as it did when Thomas Cook collapsed last September. Their current advice is to make your own travel arrangements through other airlines, rail, or coach operators.
We recommend checking the CAA news page for any updates on this situation.
If your flights are ATOL protected, you can get a new flight or a refund
ATOL is the scheme provided by the CAA for these kinds of situations, to make sure holidaymakers aren't left out of pocket. If you booked a holiday through a travel agent, you may be covered by ATOL protection. This means the agent can organise for you to get home at no extra cost, or offer a full refund.
If you're protected, you'll have received an ATOL certificate when you booked your travel. Although unfortunately the CAA has said that very few Flybe passengers are likely to be ATOL protected.
If you booked flights on their own, they won't be ATOL protected
Because the ATOL scheme only covers package holidays, flight-only deals don't have the same protection. Instead, you can try to claim through your travel insurance (if you have any), or through your credit card provider, if you booked using one. So this doesn't apply if you paid using your Monzo card.
If you booked through another third-party provider, you should contact them for their advice.
If you're not ATOL-protected, and you don't have other protection, we can initiate a chargeback
A chargeback is a process where we dispute a transaction you made on your Monzo card. We’ll raise this on your behalf with Flybe, and hopefully get your money back. Just drop us a message through the in-app chat.
We’ll need you to confirm what date you made the transaction with Flybe so we can start this process, please send over a screenshot of your booking receipt/confirmation when you can.
But chargebacks aren't a guaranteed way to get your money back, and it can be several weeks before you hear back. We also won't be able to do this if you paid Flybe via Direct Debit.
For more information, you can follow the CAA on Twitter.