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Two cruise ships are due back in the UK with 3,600 stranded tourists on board.The Celebrity Eclipse left Southampton on Tuesday after putting its inaugural celebrations on hold to help those stuck by the volcanic ash cloud.
The new luxury £500m ship is due back from Bilbao in Spain with 2,200 people between 1700 BST and 1900 BST.
The Thomson cruise ship Island Escape is sailing back from Madeira with 1,400 passengers and will arrive in Falmouth, in Cornwall, later.
Thomson said two of its cruise ships had been involved in a "significant repatriation programme" in response to six days of UK flight cancellations.
'Massive operation'
Celebrations to mark the inauguration of the luxury Celebrity Eclipse had to be put on hold to pick up customers of tour operators Thomas Cook, TUI and Co-Op Travel Group.
Coaches brought the tourists from across Spain to Bilbao where they boarded the 122,000-tonne liner.
Some of the delayed holidaymakers - including about 500 children - had been stranded for up to seven days.
A spokeswoman for Celebrity Cruises called the mission a "massive logistical operation".
Rescued holidaymakers are travelling back in luxury on the ship, which has a real lawn measuring nearly half-an-acre, as well as bars, 10 restaurants, a casino, a theatre and swimming and spa pools.
Passengers have also be provided with meals and entertainment.This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.