London: British travellers and commuters were hit hard on a chaotic Friday after the collapse of one its largest tour operators and a fire in the rail tunnel connecting Britain with mainland Europe.
Some 85,000 Britons were reported to be stranded abroad after the XL Leisure Group, Britain's the third largest package holiday group, went into administration.
Many thousands were given the news at British airports as they prepared to board their flights.
Some 200,000 people have advance booked holidays with the company, which flies to 50 mainly-Mediterranean destinations, the Civil Aviation Authority said.
“In respect of people who are currently abroad we're making arrangements and working very closely with the travel industry to organise repatriation flights.
“Clearly though, with XL Airways no longer operating, we're having to bring in substitute aircraft to bring people home," a CAA spokesman said.
Also, firefighters were on Friday battling to control a blaze that broke out on Thursday afternoon in the undersea tunnel that connects Britain with France and Belgium by rail.
The Eurotunnel fire broke out 11 km from the French town of Calais after a Britain-bound lorry, which was carrying the chemical phenol, reportedly overturned on the shuttle train.
Six people suffered the effects of smoke inhalation and dozens had to be evacuated while thousands of travellers were stranded in France and Britain.
Stranded lorries lined roads and highways in both countries leading to Eurorail stations.
An offer of alternative ferry tickets in exchange for train tickets led to thousands of passengers flooding the ports of Calais and Dover.
That wasn't the end of commuter woes in Britain. Hundreds of drivers at two major London bus companies began a 48-hour strike at midnight demanding a standard 30,000 pound salary for all drivers across the bus network.
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