Monarch Airlines set to return to Luton six years after collapse with loss of nearly 2,000 jobs​​​​​​​

Monarch Airlines is set to relaunch six years after collapsing in 2017 with £466million debts and the loss of around 2,000 jobs.

The company, which operated out of Luton Airport, confirmed this week its new headquarters would be in the town with hopes the airline could take off again by mid-2024 using a small fleet of Airbus A20-family jets.

The airline collapsed in 2017, with up to 1,800 workers made redundant along with flights and holidays for about 860,000 people being cancelled.

In 2019, the engineering arm of the airline, Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited (MAEL), also went into administration.

Monarch has announced that the airline and the holiday company have been transferred to new ownership following the departure of the companies' founder and previous majority shareholder.

A spokesperson for the company told the BBC: "On the 18th of August we completed the critical first step in our mission to relaunch a much-loved name in UK travel when Monarch Airlines and Monarch Holidays were passed into new ownership.

"We're now building a brand new Monarch and can't wait to share more with the travelling public in the very near future."

It’s believed plans include filing for a new Aircraft Operators Certificate for the new business based on the Monarch name, with a fleet to support the operation.

The business started as a travel company founded in 1928 with the original Monarch Airlines company launched in June 1967, initially as a charter and scheduled airline, and then a low-cost operator in 2004.

At the time, Monarch, an Airbus A320 operator with 34 aircraft in the fleet, was the largest collapse of an airline based in the UK

When the company ceased trading in October 2017 the Civil Aviation Authority had to help 110,000 holidaymakers return home.

At the time it was the UK's fifth biggest airline and the country's largest ever to collapse.

The UK's trademark registry shows that online travel firm We Love Holidays currently owns both the Monarch logo and name following the company going into administration in 2018.

Luton Airport has been approached for a comment.