CORFU, September 15, 2008 (AFP) - Britain's bankrupt tour operator, XL Leisure Group, chartered nine flights to bring 1,500 stranded holidaymakers home from Corfu Monday, a company spokesperson told AFP.

Five flights departed Monday morning to Britain and four others were expected to take off by the early afternoon, according to Spiros Mavronas, a representative for the group's subsidiary, XL Airways.

The operator, which trades under a host of names, has been transporting a seasonal average of 50,000 tourists to Corfu.

Britain's third largest holiday company, behind TUI Travel and Thomas Cook Group, announced it was going into administration Friday after failing to secure a multi-million-pound rescue package.

Its collapse left stranded up to 85,000 holidaymakers worldwide.