U.K. airline stocks surge Monday after discount carrier Monarch Airlines plc effectively filed for bankruptcy protection late on Sunday evening.

Low-cost airline Easyjet plc (ESYJY) was up 4.14% in the opening 90 minutes of trading in London to change hands at 1,267.34 pence and trim their thee-month loss to around 6.62%. Rival Fellow budget carrier Ryanair plc (RYAAY) - Get Report was marked 3.14% at 1,678 pence each. Ryanair, which is reportedly looking to poach pilots from Monarch to ease pressure after it cancelled thousands of flights due to pilot vacations, sending shares in the Dublin-based group down 6.7% over the past three months.

Meanwhile British Airways owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group (ICAGY) , shares were up 2% in Monday morning trading, to change hands at 606.5 pence.

In the early hours of Monday morning, low-cost airline and packaged tour operator Monarch Airlines fell into administration due to mounting costs and the increasing competitive nature of low-cost air travel, making it the biggest U.K. airline to cease trading.

All flights have been grounded, leaving 110,000 passengers stranded abroad. The administrators and the Civil Aviation Authority will work together to repatriate the passengers over the next two weeks.

The CAA said that it is working with the British government to secure a fleet of 30 aircraft, flying to more than 30 airports, to bring back the passengers.

"We are putting together, at very short notice and for a period of two weeks, what is effectively one of the UK's largest airlines to manage this task," CAA CEO Andrew Haines said Monday.

European airlines were also up in Monday trading, with Lufthansa (DLAKY) marked 2.72% higher, changing hands at €24.15 and Air France KLM (AFLYY) was up 1.11% to € 13.30.

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