Tearful last Thomas Cook flight as passengers scramble to get home

Wendy Willis, 57, told CNN the atmosphere on the flight from Orlando, Florida, to Manchester, England, was very sombre before landing at 8.52 a.m.

Flights operated by the company have been grounded, hotel bills left unpaid and package vacations thrown into disarray across Europe and the rest of the world by the travel company's demise. "We were absolutely gutted. We have been together eight years and never been abroad together," she said. "We have a one-year-old and wanted to have a nice relaxing break for our honeymoon."

Sunil Mistry, a London-based TV producer staying on the Spanish island of Tenerife, said the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority'swas offering clear details about repatriation flights, although no information about his return journey scheduled for September 26 was available. ATOL, or Air Travel Organiser's Licence, is a U.K. government-backed organization that guarantees financial cover in the event a travel company ceases trading."As long as I'm home for work on Monday that's fine, we've got three days of wiggle room," Mistry added. "Ideally I want to get back as soon as I can because there won't be a hotel after Thursday and I guess we'd be camping at the airport.

"I've been here since 8am," said Fiona Redding, who was stuck at the airport in Menorca, one of Spain's Balearic islands, waiting to catch a flight back to Bristol, U.K. "It's not clear what's going on with flights at the moment, the times keep changing . I'm flight-only so not protected by ATOL unfortunately.

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