Some 500 passengers which flew out of Shannon airport with collapsed airline EUjet have been left stranded after the company which owns the no-frills airline filed for administration and grounded all its flights.
PlaneStation owns both EUjet and Manston airport in Kent, England.
About 5,000 passengers in total are thought to be stranded abroad unable to get home.
Holidaymakers due to be flying back to Ireland with EUjet had to arrange alternative flights with other airlines.
EUjet chief executive PJ McGoldrick told staff a failure to secure funds from the banks meant the airport could not be kept operational.
The airline began commercial flights in September 2004 but passenger numbers have been well below predicted levels.
EUjet hoped to have 500,000 passengers in its first year but in its first 11 months flights have carried only 330,000 people.
It ran four Fokker 100 aircraft, flying from Manston to 18 destinations in Europe.