"Libya is descending into hell," said passenger Helena Sheehan."The airport is like nothing I've ever seen in my whole life," the 66 year-old said.

"It's absolute chaos. There's just thousands and thousands of people trying to get out." The flight was chartered by BP, but the oil giant offered seats on the plane to the Foreign Office to bring back Britons stuck in Tripoli.

The Foreign Office has also chartered a plane to bring back British nationals stranded at Tripoli airport, though its departure from Gatwick was delayed due to a technical problem. It left Tripoli shortly after the first flight arrived back at Gatwick.

Meanwhile a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said there were a range of military options being made available to rescue British nationals. The warship HMS Cumberland is already on standby in the Mediterranean Sea.