TUI have confirmed further cancellations for Sri Lanka holidays as the political climate remains unstable.
The latest round of cancelled trips - which has been happening since May of this year - comes as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office warning to Brits planning to travel to Sri Lanka remains in place. The Foreign Office said that the country should be avoided when possible.
They have, however, clarified that the advice does not apply to airside transit through Sri Lanka’s international airport, so those on connecting flights can travel as normal, reports the Mirror. TUI have confirmed that they will still run transiting flights through the airport.
The Foreign Office’s travel advice for Sri Lanka states : “Sri Lanka is experiencing a severe economic crisis which has led to shortages of basic necessities including medicines, cooking gas, fuel and food because of a shortage of hard currency to pay for imports. There is a major shortage of fuel (diesel and petrol) affecting transport, businesses, and emergency services.
“There are daily power cuts due to electricity rationing. This has led to protests and violent unrest. Further protests, demonstrations, roadblocks and violent unrest could occur at short notice.”
A travel ban had originally been put in place in May and subsequently lifted, only for the restrictions to be reinstated later in the day.
As a result, TUI has been cancelling Sri Lanka holidays since May, although this has been done in batches, no doubt so that the travel firm can prioritise those who are due to travel in coming weeks. In the latest series of cancellations, TUI has called off holidays through to August 22, 2022.
A statement issued on the travel giant's radar reads: "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 22 August 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. Travel restrictions can change quickly - always check the Foreign Office's latest Sri Lanka advice before booking or going on a holiday.
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