FILE PHOTO: Passengers line up in front of Thomas Cook counters at the airport of Heraklion, on the island of Crete, Greece September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis

(Reuters) - UK’s Civil Aviation Authority said on Friday 72 flights are scheduled to operate to bring back a further 16,000 people to the country following the collapse of Thomas Cook.

The aviation regulator said it has brought back over 40% of the total number of passengers in the largest peacetime repatriation ‘Operation Matterhorn’ launched on Monday.