Twelve members of an extended family of Irish descent are expected to arrive back in Britain this morning. They have been stranded for nearly three days at an airport in the US after they were thrown off a flight to Jamaica. They face possible arrest by British police on arrival.
A member of the family told The Irish Times last night that they were "delighted this whole thing is over."
Mr Myles Connors said relatives in Britain had raised the $1,600 (about £1,100) for the Northwest Airlines flight. Despite the "nightmare" of being stranded at Norfolk International Airport in Virginia, Mr Connors said: "The main thing is that we've got our health and life goes on."
However, there was some confusion last night over whether the entire family would be returning to Britain together. According to a spokesman at Norfolk International Airport, only 10 members had raised enough money.
Mr Wayne Shanks said that during a meeting yesterday afternoon family members had told him that half the group would be returning to Britain today.
On Sunday the Connors family and members of the Driscoll family were ordered off their flight, which was en route from London to Montego Bay, after one of them became involved in an argument with another passenger.
The captain of the Airtours Boeing 767 had rerouted the flight to Norfolk International Airport in Virginia.
Earlier this week the tour operator, Airtours, banned the families from travelling on its flights again.
A spokeswoman for the company said one of the issues being considered was whether any members of the group would be arrested when they returned to Britain.
Another member of the party, Mr Francis Coyle, said yesterday that the group of six men and six women hoped to return to Britain soon.
"We are feeling a bit better today, and everybody here is being very kind to us. It is more likely than not that we will be going home by tonight," he said.
Their hopes were raised after nearly two days of negotiations with several American airlines, two of which refused to take the family. Mr Coyle, who was travelling to Montego Bay with his wife and one of his daughters, said the issue was money.
"We are trying to scrape enough money together to get home. We can fly as soon as we get the money. I want to get back and see my kids. This holiday of a lifetime has turned into a real horror holiday."
The American authorities treated the family "very well," but Mr Coyle told The Irish Times they received little help from the British embassy. "They just said there was nothing they could do."
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said embassy officials in Washington would keep in contact with the family to offer assistance. But he said several family members had rejected earlier offers to organise the transfer of funds.
Another member of the family, Mr Myles Connors of Croydon, south London, denied reports that the adults in the group had "abandoned" several of their children at home: "We all have children. We have all paid for babysitters to look after our children and we aren't Travellers. I live in a house."