Monarch carries 1 millionth Gatwick-Malaga passenger

Low-fares airline Monarch has reached a milestone in its operations from Gatwick Airport, carrying its one millionth passenger to the Spanish city of Malaga.

The carrier rewarded Hazel MacArthur and her husband Roderick from East Sussex with a pair of free flights.

Mr MacArthur said that the couple travel to Malaga five or six times a year as they own a house there.

Liz Savage, managing director of Monarch's scheduled services, said that the airline was "delighted" to surprise Mr and Mrs MacArthur with the free flights.

She added: "Today's milestone is a great achievement. We began operating flights to Malaga when we launched our scheduled services from Gatwick in May 2003 and demand for the route continues to grow.

"This year we have already sold 76,000 seats and this summer we will be operating up to 38 flights per week on the route."

Monarch also offers services from Birmingham Airport and Manchester Airport to European destinations including Barcelona and Gran Canaria as well as Orlando, Florida.