- 2,500 of 20,000 Britons thought to be holidaying in Tunisia have flown back
- Thousands more set to leave in the next few days in wake of terror attack
- Departure lounges so busy that hundreds had to wait for flights outside
- 15 Britons were among the 38 who were killed by an ISIS gunmen on Friday
Thousands of terrified families were flown home from Tunisia yesterday in one of the biggest airlifts ever organised by British tour companies.
Wave after wave of empty aircraft were dispatched from the UK in response to pleas by British visitors traumatised by the beach massacre on Friday and desperate to return home to worried loved ones.
Fleets of coaches, some escorted by armed police, ferried them from their hotels to airports in the Sousse region.
Departure lounges became so crowded that hundreds of people had to wait outside for their flights to safety.
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Busy: Departure lounges in Tunisia are so busy that hundreds of terrified families waiting to board flights back to the UK have had to wait outside
Exodus: 2,500 of the 20,000 Britons thought to be currently on holiday in Tunisia had been flown home
Fearful: Thousands more are set to fly home in the next few days in the wake of Friday's terror attack in Sousse
Departure: A policeman stands guard while tourists leave at the Enfidha international airport in Sousse
Return: Today thousands of British people were repatriated, with airlines offering them free flights home
Waiting: Tourists sit in a bar after the mass shooting in the popular resort town of Sousse
Terrified: Tourists are seen leaving the Imperial Marhaba Hotel after a gunman opened fire on a beachside hotel in Sousse
The operation started within hours of the atrocity, continued overnight and gathered pace yesterday.
Last night it was estimated that some 2,500 of the 20,000 Britons thought to be currently on holiday in Tunisia had been flown home, with more expected to follow in the coming days.
One holidaymaker, Matthew Price, said he had cut short his week-long trip by three days and although it was his third visit to Tunisia, he expected it to be his last.
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'It's the first time I've ever been on holiday and feared for my life,' he said.
As one of the first planes landed at Gatwick, Peter Long, joint chief executive of Tui Group, which runs Thomson and First Choice, said that he was 'deeply, deeply shocked' by the atrocity.
He added: 'Our whole organisation is reeling with pain to see the suffering that has taken place in Tunisia.
'The tragedy of the situation continues as we see families who have lost loved ones. Our heartfelt feelings go out towards them.'
Embrace: Tourists console each other following a shooting attack which left at least 38 tourists dead
Heading home: Return: Today thousands of British people were repatriated, with airlines offering them free flights home after a terrifying ordeal in Tunisia
Saddened: A female passenger, who is believed to be British, holds her head in her hands as the bus takes distraught tourists to the airport
Two holidaymakers embrace as they board a coach to take them home following the attacks in Tunisia
Tens off thousands of Britons are being airlifted back home, as thousands more have cancelled their holidays
Protection: As armed guards keep an eye on the leaving buses, Tunisia's Prime Minister announced a series of new security measures including closing renegade mosques
Bereavement counsellors and trauma teams have been sent to Sousse to assist relatives of the dead and injured, the company said.
Yesterday Thomson and First Choice predicted they still had around 5,400 customers in the country.
Flights were landing throughout the day at Manchester, Gatwick, East Midlands, Leeds-Bradford and Doncaster airports.
But some holidaymakers almost missed the evacuation, unaware of the airlift until they saw other guests with suitcases in the hotel lobby.
Mr Long said: 'We had situations where people locked themselves in their rooms because they were so scared, which is understandable.'
A number of tourists were so worried about the possibility of another attack that they asked Tunisian police to accompany them to the airport.
A team of holiday reps was on hand to greet passengers as they entered the arrivals hall at Manchester Airport's Terminal 2 yesterday on the first flights from Enfidha, about 35 miles from Sousse.
Some were clearly distressed as they were led away by staff, with one middle-aged woman in tears.
Massacre: Staff mop up the blood outside the Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, where at least 38 people were gunned down at a nearby beach in a terrorist attack yesterday
Silent: The beach would have been filled with tourists yesterday, but now it is taped off - with thousands of tourists now waiting to board emergency flights home after the horrendous attack
Tears: A woman weeps as she lays flowers where fellow holidaymakers were murdered yesterday
Memorial: One of the heartbreaking notes left at the scene reads: 'Terrorism will not win'
The terrorist attack happened in the popular holiday destination of Sousse in the north of Tunisia
Two ambulances waited outside the airport and a chaplain was on hand to comfort the returning families. Thomson and First Choice said all trips to Tunisia for the next week would be cancelled.
Another large tour company, Thomas Cook, said it was offering customers due to travel to Tunisia before July 5 the opportunity to cancel or change their holiday free of charge.
It sent two extra flights to the country yesterday, adding: 'We are committed to doing everything we can to support our customers who want to depart.'
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, which has cancelled all flights and holidays to the region until July 5, added: 'Our absolute priority is to ensure the safe passage home of those customers wishing to travel as soon as possible.
'Aircraft are arriving now in Tunisia and will depart this evening. Passengers can rest assured that, as required, we will provide onward transport from Leeds Bradford and Manchester Airports.'
ABTA said there were an estimated 20,000 British package holidaymakers currently in Tunisia, plus an unknown number of independent travellers.
A spokesman said: 'The first priority is the welfare of holidaymakers in the hotels affected by this terrible incident, and extra flights have been put on to help people return home.'
Contemplative: Tourists sit at the terrace of the Imperiale Marhaba hotel after a gunman opened fire at the beachside hotel in Sousse
Embrace: Scared tourists comfort one another at the Imperial Marhaba Hotel having survived the terrifying gun attack outside the beachside hotel
Hospital: Injured people are treated near the area where an attack took place in Sousse
Bloodied: Emergency workers rushed to get the injured people to a hospital
Medics help an injured man in Sousse after gunmen stormed beaches of two hotels in the town of Sousse
It said holidaymakers elsewhere in Tunisia should contact their tour operator and follow any instructions issued by local authorities.
Meanwhile easyJet said it would provide an additional flight from Monastir, Tunisia, for customers wishing to fly home early.
Nearly 430,000 Britons visited Tunisia last year, according to ABTA.
The country's tourism chief, Hamda Abdelaoui, said the massacre was a 'catastrophe' for the industry and would lead to at least 1,000 Tunisians losing their jobs.
Last night it emerged that four UK emergency flights had taken off from Tunisia without any passengers on board, indicating that some visitors had decided to stay on after the attack.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3141863/Massive-airlift-bring-home-20-000-British-tourists-Tunisia-counsellors-flown-ut-comfort-relatives-dead.html#ixzz3eUHMsVN0
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