Monarch mayhem puts hen party celebrations in doubt

A hen party of 20 people is on the ropes after the chaos caused by Monarch Airlines cancelling all flights.
Jessica Palmer and 19 others were set to fly to Lisbon for a hen party.Jessica Palmer and 19 others were set to fly to Lisbon for a hen party.
Jessica Palmer and 19 others were set to fly to Lisbon for a hen party.

Jessica Palmer, from Chorley, is one of the women in the party that have all booked flights through Monarch to go to Lisbon, Portugal, in February, ahead of her friends wedding.

Now, after hearing the news about Monarch, Jessica doesn't know if the celebration will go ahead.

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The 25-year-old said: "The party is made up of people from across different areas all across the UK, including Liverpool, Birmingham, and even for some - including the bride - as far as London.

"The bride is stressed but we're trying to plan it on her behalf.

"Some people might not be able to come so we're not re-booking yet. It's been a bit of a nightmare."

The stress for Jess is nothing new, with her original return flight from the Portuguese capital being through Ryanair. The flight was one over 20,000 flights cancelled by the Irish company in the last few weeks.

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The NHS worker said: "Our outbound flight was with Monarch and our return with Ryanair.

"Because it's a hen party we all booked onto the subsequent Monarch return flight."

The cost of the Monarch flights for Jessica were £30 outbound and £57 return - but if she and the party are to re-book they will have to cough up a lot more.

Jessica added: "I had a look this morning for new flights but they were double the price we paid. The whole thing might now be scrapped."