In a statement released on Thursday (31 August), the board pointed to drawing close to exhausting the start-up funding it had received “far more rapidly than anticipated”.

It said: “It is with immense regret that we announce today that we have been forced to put the brakes on our process to relaunch Monarch.

“This is not a decision that we have taken lightly, however since taking over the business two weeks ago we have drawn close to exhausted the start-up funding provided to us far more rapidly than anticipated.”

Monarch’s mooted return came six years after the iconic brand collapsed and sparked what was then the UK’s largest peacetime repatriation effort.

But from 18 August social media feeds confirmed ownership of the Monarch Airlines and Monarch Holidays brands, with Companies House recording Monarch Airlines Limited and Monarch Holidays Limited as incorporated on 18 January 2023 and based in Luton.

Named director Daniel Ellingham promised the launch of "a new and strong company for the UK tourism sector" in an interview with US aviation title Airways.

The Monarch board’s latest statement said it was seeking alternative routes to release funds, “such as partial divestment of share capital” – and would continue to do so.

“However at the current stage there is no practical option to move forward in the immediate future.”