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TUI has cancelled all holidays to Sri Lanka departing up to and including 31 May, according to www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
It said the TUI move comes as the Foreign Office updated its travel advice for Sri Lanka, urging Brits not to go to the country unless it is absolutely necessary.
During the first week of May, arrivals from the UK topped the tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 13% or 1,262 whilst year to date UK was second with 43,793 tourists.
According to www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk. the change in advice comes after protests have been taking place across Sri Lanka as the country faces an economic crisis. It includes shortages of medicines, fuel and food. Locals are also suffering from power cuts every day due to electricity rationing.
Protests have been taking place since 31 March, while a state of emergency has been declared in May, alongside an islandwide curfew. Violence against those peacefully protesting in recent days has prompted the Foreign Office to update its travel advice to warn UK travellers not to travel unless they have an essential reason.
TUI has released a statement regarding the decision to stop all flights to Sri Lanka. A spokesperson wrote: “Due to the ongoing political and economic instability in Sri Lanka, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have advised against all but essential travel.
“As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel all holidays to Sri Lanka departing up to and including 31 May 2022. We will be proactively contacting all impacted customers in departure date order to discuss their options. Please note this advice does not apply to customers transiting through Sri Lanka’s international airport and customers currently in resort can continue to enjoy their holiday as planned.”
“We will continue to monitor the situation and update customers should there be any further updates. We would like to thank our customers for their understanding at this time.”
The Foreign Office warns that “several incidents took place on 9 May involving violence against peaceful protesters” including areas in Colombo and Kandy, and that “further incidents could take place”. (manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/tui-cancels-holidays-sri-lanka-23973601)
