British travellers stranded by the volcanic ash cloud vented their increasing frustration at the government's much-vaunted rescue operation.
Exhausted holidaymakers and travellers waited in Calais for the arrival of HMS Ocean and the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, but neither vessel came.
The operation to turn Madrid airport into a major hub for an estimated 40,000 British travellers stranded on other continents began as five coaches carried 200 people towards Channel ports.
After a day of confusion about whether the 100 or more coaches promised by Gordon Brown would eventually appear, the first relieved passengers left the airport at 9pm.
"We were a bit nervous that this wasn't going to happen, but it is a big relief," said Jenny Heard from Devon, who had been stranded in Madrid with her husband and two small children since their flight from Johannesburg was diverted on Friday.
"At least we are heading in the right direction," she said as her family boarded a coach.
The first travellers to get on the government-funded coaches were those who had contacted the British embassy, which has stands at two of the airport terminals.
By: Brant
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