Pat Thomas, left, and her daughter Rhiannon Thomas, both from Birmingham, chat as they wait in Terminal 4 at JFK International Airport in New York for their flight to Dublin.

THE ROYAL NAVY today sent three of its largest ships to recover Britons stranded by air chaos caused by the Icelandic volcano.

HMS Ark Royal, HMS Ocean and HMS Albion have been deployed and will bring travellers, including soldiers returning from Afghanistan, back to the UK from the Continent.

• Stuck in Portugal – click here
• The strain in Spain – click here

An estimated 150,000 Britons have not been able to return to the UK because of the restrictions on flights, travel association Abta said. Restrictions have been extended until at least 1am tomorrow.

A spokeswoman said: “At no time in living memory has British airspace been shut down.”

Schools and businesses in Shropshire were assessing the impact the flight problems have caused for the county. Teachers and pupils from across Shropshire have been caught up in the chaos and one county trade chief warned absenteeism was also set to hit business.

The ships are now steaming to ports in mainland Europe to pick up people whose flights have been cancelled because of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud.

Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the Navy’s flagship, based in Portsmouth, was carrying out operations off north-west Scotland when it was redeployed, the Ministry of Defence said.

Commando helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, the Navy’s biggest ship, left Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth this morning on a routine training exercise before being tasked with helping to recover the stranded travellers.

HMS Albion, an amphibious landing ship also based at Devonport, was already on its way to Santander in northern Spain to pick up soldiers from 3rd Battalion The Rifles returning home after a six-month tour in Afghanistan.

The news came after Prime Minister Gordon Brown held a meeting of the emergency planning committee Cobra in Whitehall.

Speaking in Number 10 he said: “I think the first thing we have got to say is the safety of air passengers is of paramount importance.

British Airways said the closure of airports was costing it around £15 million to £20 million a day, as Weather forecasters have warned the risk of volcanic ash heading over the UK could continue until at least Friday.

Meanwhile, a party of 72 staff and pupils from Hadley Learning Community in Telford who should have flown home from Milan to Bristol on Saturday got a coach instead.

And Steve Bowyer, from Telford, who was due to start a new job today, is stuck in Florida, with his bride Sharon, his two children, his mother and mother- in-law. He said: “The next available flight for the six of us is on April 26.”

British eventing star Oliver Townend left his Shropshire base in Dudleston Heath yesterday ahead of an event in Kentucky and, after arriving in Paris, he took a taxi to Madrid with the aim of boarding a US-bound flight later today.