XL passengers may be stranded for a week

That was the message from travel industry officials last night as chaos continued over the grounded tour operator, whose demise left 90,000 angry customers at 50 foreign destinations and up to 200,000 looking for alternative holidays.

An estimated 450 flights will be needed to repatriate the families who booked trips with XL, Britain’s third largest holiday firm.

Grounded: Hundreds of passengers could be stranded for a week

But by last night, the Civil Aviation Authority had completed only 52 repatriation flights, carrying 11,900 people since XL’s collapse on Friday.

The Association of British Travel Agents warned that it could be ‘several days’ before all the stranded passengers were flown back to the UK.

Around the world’s holiday spots, chaos reigned as angry passengers complained they were given no warning about XL’s imminent collapse.

Worried travellers arrived at airports with no idea whether they would make it home. While many were able to fly with other airlines or on flights chartered by the CAA, hundreds more were in the dark.

At Dalaman airport in Turkey, XL passengers learned that the firm had gone bust only when they were told by a security guard: ‘XL finish.’ Victoria Millington, 25, from London, who was on holiday with boyfriend Henry Storrar, said: ‘It’s as if they’re trying to ignore the whole thing and hoped we’d all just disappear.’ The couple had to buy a Thomas Cook flight for another £150 each.

Last night, ABTA wrote to Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly demanding that everyone flying abroad on holiday should receive a universal protection package. At present, anyone buying a package holiday is protected by an Air Travel Organiser Licence operated by the CAA, a Government agency. But if people buy a flight only, not all airlines have an ATOL licence.

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of ABTA, said: ‘The Government has repeatedly rejected industry appeals for a universal system of protection.’

The CAA said it had organised flights to the UK from Orlando and Sanford (Florida), Las Palmas and Tenerife (Canaries), Sharm-el-Sheik (Egypt),

Mahon (Minorca), Palma (Majorca), Alicante and Malaga (Spain), Faro (Portugal), Kavala, Lefkas, Mykonos, Rhodes, Skiathos and Zante (Greece) and Bodrum and Dalaman (Turkey).

The aircraft were provided by BA, bmi, Monarch Airlines, First Choice Airways, Jet2.com, Astraeus and Virgin Atlantic.