Tui has cancelled all holidays to Sri Lanka after the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advised against all but essential travel to the country.
The operator’s withdrawal came as the island nation’s new prime minister warned that it faced its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years and needed $75 million of foreign currency within days to pay for essential imports.
Ranil Wickremesinghe also indicated that state-owned Sri Lankan Airlines may be privatised in an effort to stabilise the country’s finances.
The FCDO hardened its travel advice on Friday after a state of emergency was declared and an island-wide curfew was imposed.
Tui responded on Monday by axing all holidays until at least the end of the month.
The operator said: “Due to the ongoing political and economic instability in Sri Lanka, the 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.”
Tui added: “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.”