Travellers stranded abroad by the volcanic ash cloud are slowly returning to the UK as recriminations fly about the Government's handling of the crisis.
All UK airports have reopened but many services were cancelled, with budget airline Ryanair unable to operate any flights at all.
A leading holiday company chief said the Government's response to the crisis had been "a shambles", while Conservative leader David Cameron accused ministers of "muddle and confusion".
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, whose three young sons were stranded in Spain, said there would have to be a "post-mortem" of the response to the crisis.
But Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended the time taken to reopen UK airspace, stressing that passengers had to be "safe and secure" and that the Government would never have been forgiven if aircraft had been allowed to fly when people's lives were at risk.
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis denied the decision to reopen UK airspace - made by the Civil Aviation Authority last night - had been based on pressure from airlines.
Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president and chief executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council said the crisis had been handled "with the mentality of the early 20th century".
