EMBATTLED Monarch Airlines CEO Andrew Swaffield’s lofty role, which saw him named one of the UK’s top LGBT executives in 2015, is a far cry from his humble roots in Bournemouth.

Mr Swaffield, whose firm went into administration last week with the loss of 2,100 jobs, has in recent years become a keen polo player and patron of a top polo team, but his origins lie in a blue collar, council estate background.

Born and raised in Ensbury Park, Bournemouth, his father was a telephone engineer and his mother stayed at home to look after three sons, of which he was the youngest, and a daughter.

He went to Bournemouth School in the 1970s, leaving aged 16 and eschewing university, and went on to work for a decade with tour operator Thomas Cook.

In 1994 he joined British Airways, heading leisure sales in the UK and Ireland, then was appointed managing director of Avios, the BA’s Air Miles loyalty business.

He joined Monarch in April 2014, tasked with restructuring the failing airline, and his efforts were widely praised over the next couple of years.

Mr Swaffield lives in West Sussex with his civil partner William Low.

He has been back to his hometown on several occasions in the past few years, to speak to former school-mates at a Bournemouth School reunion and to address tourism students at Bournemouth and Poole College on what it takes to survive and thrive in challenging business environments.

This was in the aftermath of the £125 million rescue package he had negotiated for Monarch in 2014.

The following year the company slashed 700 jobs from its then-workforce of 3,000, and ended charter and long-haul flying to focus on short-haul leisure destinations.

The “root cause” of Monarch’s current woes was terror attacks in Egypt and Tunisia as well as the “decimation” of Turkey, Mr Swaffield has said.

He said the airline was carrying 14 per cent more passengers than last year for £100 million less revenue.

In a letter to staff he said they can “all hold your heads up high and be proud of what you achieved at Monarch”.

He added: “It has been a company that has cared for its customers and which has been like a family for many people for five decades. I cannot tell you how much I wanted to avoid this outcome and how truly sorry I am.”