Airlines accused of cashing in on Monarch collapse

Flight companies were accused of cashing in on the chaos from the Monarch collapse as flight prices were allegedly increased by the minute as desperate passengers struggled to rebook flights.

An intensive care nurse from south London, who has asked to remain anonymous, rebooked flights to Alicante and saw the quoted price rise from £138 to £199 per person on the Ryanair site in the time it took to complete the booking.

She said: "It is scandalous that Monarch were allowed to carry on taking bookings when it is now clear the Government knew they were about to fold.

"I haven't had a proper pay rise in seven years and was forced to either cancel my holiday or stump up an inflated price to Ryanair.

"I blame the Government for standing by and allowing ordinary working people like myself to be ripped off in this outrageous fashion."

Ryanair's chief marketing officer, Kenny Jacobs, said: "Ryanair's fares are only coming down this winter."