Flybe and Monarch in bitter dispute over alleged breach of maintenance contract
Beleaguered airline Flybe is locked in a war of words with Monarch Aircraft Engineering (MAEL) over a terminated maintenance contract.
Exeter-based airline Flybe, which put itself up for sale last month, terminated a contract with the aircraft repair company for maintenance services.
The airline has accused MAEL of breaching the contract by withdrawing its services “unilaterally”.
“Flybe is very disappointed by these events, which appear to have been undertaken without due consideration of our business, customers and operations, and with no legal justification,” the company said in a statement.
But MAEL said it served notice on the contract with Flybe earlier this year.
City PM understands Monarch was concerned about Flybe’s financial difficulties and asked for an invoice to be paid early.
In October MAEL carried out a complex restructuring process. The company’s majority shareholder is now investment group Greybull Capital, which owned Monarch Airlines prior to its collapse last year.
A spokesperson for MAEL said: “Due to circumstances we cannot disclose, we decided to suspend repair and maintenance operations for Flybe on Friday 23 November.”
The dispute comes amid a turbulent time for the regional airline, which put itself up for sale after issuing a full-year profit warning.
Virgin Atlantic and International Airlines Group (IAG) are reportedly in a bidding war for the struggling carrier.