Veteran chairman of troubled Monarch headed for exit

The high-profile chairman of troubled airline Monarch, Sir Roy McNulty, quietly left his role last month, it can be revealed.

Monarch Holdings, the owner of the 50-year-old airline which is still trying to finalise a multi-million-pound rescue package amid fears that it’s close to going bust, filed documents at Companies House in August revealing Sir Roy’s departure from the board.

When Sir Roy, chairman of Gatwick Airport and former chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, was promoted to the role from non-executive board member in July 2014, Monarch lauded the fact that “one of Britain’s most experienced executives in the transport and aviation sectors” was its new chairman.

This summer, however, the airline — which has admitted seeking out “significant investment” in a bid “to weather tougher market conditions and to fund its ongoing growth” — issued no statement about Sir Roy’s exit.

He is still listed on the Monarch website as chairman, although the airline on Tuesday claimed Marc Mehoyas, co-founder of Greybull Capital which bought Monarch two years ago, had become chairman at the time of the purchase.

Sir Roy and Monarch both claimed his exit was “a long-established arrangement”.