THOMSON and Somak Holidays have dropped their charter
programmes to Sri Lanka this winter following Foreign Office advice to avoid holidays
to the troubled island.
The move has put pressure on Monarch – the only British charter
airline to Sri Lanka – to axe its twice-weekly flights from Gatwick and
Manchester to Colombo, due to run from November to April. Monarch has a number
of operators sharing the 374 seat Airbus A330, but with Thomson and Somak
taking up more than half the capacity, the airline is considering whether it is
worth continuing operating the flights.
A spokeswoman for Thomson said the decision to withdraw its
programme was based of Foreign Office advice and the operator was not actively
pushing holidays to Sri Lanka. Somak managing director Ash Sofat said the
company, which contracted 100 seats on each flight, would review its programme
for winter 2002/3.