The mass of air transport passengers stuck overseas by the ash from Icelands Eyjafjallajokull volcano were likely to return home by last night said the Association of British Travel Agents.

Most flights were back to usual said by Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer. The plan was to have more than 100,000 British passengers send home by last night. But there were still 10,000 passengers stucked in Egypt, 9,000 in Florida, 5,000 in South Africa, 4,000 in California, 2,500 in Thailand, and 2,000 in Malaysia.

Britons stuck in Bangkok were allegedly too worried to leave Suvarnabhumi Airport for horror of being caught up in anti government protests. In an effort to clear the backlog, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways requested for volunteers to provide their seats to stucked travellers.

Transporting 200,000 passengers to their home has required a massive airlift, and I thank our passengers for their patience and understanding during this unprecedented natural disaster said in a statement by Budget airline easyJet Chief executive Andy Harrison.

The government for grounding planes for six days when all the experts were saying there was no danger at all to flying said in a report by Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson. He claimed the government organise payment for air transport industry which pay for stucked passengers accommodation and food. The flight restrictions cost his airline about £50million over six days. The Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said the European Commission is considering proposals on compensation.

The decision made by safety regulators to restrict airspace was made in line with long standing international guidelines and information from aircraft manufacturers that any volcanic ash could pose a danger to aircraft said in a report by The Department for Transport spokeswoman. The entire Europe has been in same position according to the same aviation safety rules.