Monarch customers to be sent ATOL claim forms by next Wednesday

The Civil Aviation Authority - which as the aviation regulator runs the ATOL protection scheme - updated its dedicated Monarch claims website today with new information about how ATOL claims will be processed.

An estimated 860,000 travellers were hit by the collapse of Monarch earlier this week - with those who booked a package holiday or made a flight-only booking on or before 14 December 2016 (ie, LAST YEAR), likely to be covered under the ATOL scheme.

For your rights and full info on what you can do, see our Monarch Airlines help guide.

The CAA says that claims from ATOL-protected customers will be handled in two different ways:

• If you booked a package holiday directly with Monarch Holidays and used a credit card, you'll need to try and claim a refund from your credit card provider rather than the ATOL scheme, and you may need to include this letter from the CAA. See full help on Section 75 reclaims in our Monarch help guide.

• Anyone else covered by the ATOL scheme will be sent an ATOL claims form by Wednesday 11 October, using the contact details you provided when you booked. This includes those who booked a Monarch Holiday directly and didn't pay by credit card, anyone else who booked a package holiday and those with ATOL-protected flight-only bookings.

The CAA says that its decision to direct some customers who are covered under the ATOL scheme to first claim via their credit card is the result of a long-standing agreement between the CAA and credit card providers on how to handle this kind of situation.