COMPANY'S RESPONSE:CHAIRMAN OF XL Leisure Group Phil Wyat said he was "totally devastated" after the company's overnight crash into administration left more than 67,000 holidaymakers stranded abroad.
Mr Wyatt apologised to XL staff and customers after efforts to secure a multimillion-pound rescue package failed on Thursday night, while the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) organised what Mr Wyatt predicted would be "the most challenging airlift that anyone has ever undertaken" to bring stranded holidaymakers home.
Amid predictions that many more airlines are likely to go bust, the XL group - until yesterday Britain's third-largest tour operator - said a decision by the administrator grounded the company's own aircraft while BA, Easyjet, BMI, Flybe and Ryanair offered to fly some of its customers home.
One flight from Orlando to Manchester did manage to set off and another bound for Gatwick was grounded, as the CAA confirmed that the decision whether or not to allow XL's aircraft to fly was "entirely one for the administrators".
As holiday dreams turned into a nightmare, the CAA set up an emergency helpline for distressed customers - (from the UK) 0870-5900927 and (from abroad) 0044-2891856547.
The XL group companies now in administration are XL Leisure Group, XL Airways UK, Excel Aviation, Explorer House, Aspire Holidays, Freedom Flights (Aviation) Ltd, The Really Great Holiday Company, Medlife Hotels, Travel City Flights and Kosmar Villa Holidays.
Mr Wyatt maintained that the group, with debts of £143 million, did not have to fail. Stuart Mackellar, a partner in joint administrator Kroll, said the administrators were still looking to save the firm.
Kroll said most people who booked their holidays with the tour operator should be eligible for a refund. CAA spokesman David Glover confirmed that package deals were covered by the authority's Air Travel Organiser's Licensing scheme, and those customers would be offered repatriation flights or their money back.
The 1,700 staff employed by XL faced an uncertain future, meanwhile, as the Unite union branded their treatment by the company "disgraceful". National officer Brian Boyd said they were trying to secure redundancy payments for staff, many of whom learned they were out of a job while still in mid-air.
"Everyone understandably is talking about the plight of passengers and the inconvenience this will cause many travellers," he said.
"But the last people who get any mention are the workers who are now facing redundancy."