Holidaymakers hit by the collapse of Britain’s third largest tour operator began returning home today as it was confirmed that most of the passengers affected will return on the date they originally booked.

Up to 85,000 people were at holiday destinations across the globe when XL Leisure Group went into administration early Friday morning, grounding its fleet of planes. Today the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - the body tasked with repatriating package tour customers - confirmed that passengers would be able to get replacement flights on their original return dates or, in the worst cases, on the following day.

The airlift was described as the “the most challenging ever undertaken” by XL’s chief executive Peter Wyatt and is expected to cost £20m.

Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, who is also a trained Boeing 757 pilot, flew one of the planes that rescued XL holidaymakers stranded abroad, according to a passenger.

Marc Cryer, who flew into Gatwick Airport on a specially-chartered Monarch Airlines flight from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, said: “I think I was about the only person on the plane that recognised him.”

Alison Hill spoke of her relief at being back. The 37-year-old from Redditch, Worcestershire said she was left in tears Friday as she worried she would not be able to find a flight home.

Ms Hill, who spent 10 days in the resort with her two-year-old son, Samuel, said she found out that XL had gone into administration as she lay in bed in her hotel room watching the news Friday morning.

She said: “No one actually told me, I had to find it out for myself. I spent the whole day in tears in reception with a very unhappy two-year-old, wondering if I was ever going to get home. A woman staying in the same hotel as me went to the airport and she found out from Thomson about this flight.

“We were meant to leave at 11pm last night and ended up getting this flight at 3.30am this morning, so you could say we were one of the lucky ones.

“There was another flight that was meant to go to Luton yesterday afternoon before ours, and they are still there.”

XL’s administrators said most people who booked holidays with the troubled tour operator should be eligible for a refund. Those who paid by credit card or used a tour operator affiliated to the Atol scheme should get their money back. In some cases travel insurance and payment by Visa debit card also offers protection.

But people who booked a flight directly with XL Airways and paid with another kind of debit card will not be protected - and will have to pay again to get a flight home.

Overseas package tour passengers are covered under the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Atol) scheme.

Alongside the 75,000 customers covered by Atol, room will also be available for the 10,000 people who booked XL flights independently - although they will have to pay for the privilege.

Outbound XL customers were not so lucky. Thousands of passengers intending to begin their holiday this week, and left stranded by the company’s collapse, will have to make alternative plans on their own.

Up to 200,000 people in total have seen future holiday plans go up in smoke as a result of the tour operator’s collapse, although most will be compensated.

XL went into administration shortly before 3am yesterday after failing to secure a rescue package.

The high-profile collapse prompted a prediction by British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh that another 30 airlines would go out of business within the next four months.

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