Extra flights for Irene-hit Brits

UK airlines laid on extra flights to bring home Britons whose flights were cancelled as Hurricane Irene roared up America's east coast.

But a number of UK travellers are still waiting to get away from the New York area following the cancellation of many flights over the weekend.

British Airways put on an additional London-bound service from Newark in New Jersey to help clear the backlog of passengers and the carrier is also operating an extra flight from New York's JF Kennedy airport to London on Wednesday.

Virgin Atlantic, which also flies from London to New York and Newark, laid on an extra flight from New York yesterday and will fly an extra service from the city tomorrow.

BA normally operates seven return flights a day on its London-New York route and three returns a day between London and Newark, while Virgin operates five return flights a day to New York and Newark.

Neither carrier was able to fly to the two US destinations on Sunday as New York prepared for the arrival of Irene which fortunately spared the Big Apple the kind of devastation it wreaked in other parts of the country.

BA and Virgin were able to resume New York and Newark services on bank holiday Monday.

A BA spokesman said: "Quite a few people have been on to us, or gone online, to rebook. We are allowing people affected by the cancellations to rebook to a later date."

A Virgin spokeswoman said: "We've still got some people to bring back. Additional seats will also be made available to ensure that the backlog of passengers away from home is cleared as soon as possible."

"We are focusing all our energy on a recovery plan to bring people back home."

British travel organisation Abta said between 5,000 and 10,000 Britons may have been in New York over the weekend.

BA said that customers whose flights have been cancelled can also claim a full refund if they wish.