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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Milo Boyd

Foreign Office lifts Sri Lanka travel ban for Brits days after TUI cancelled holidays

A severe travel warning urging Brits not to travel to Sri Lanka has now been lifted.

The UK’s Foreign Office has scrapped its warning against “all but essential travel” to the south Asian country, which had been in place since May 16 "due to ongoing political and economic instability.”

However on Friday it announced that the ban was being lifted - just days after TUI had announced it was cancelling Sri Lanka holidays until the end of June.

The removal of this statement means holidaymakers can once again book trips to the Indian Ocean island without fear of their travel insurance policies being invalidated.

The warning was put in place in mid-May following a series of violent clashes and protests in the face of a nationwide economic crisis, with a state of emergency having been declared on May 6.

At its finest, Sri Lanka is a beautiful country (Getty Images)

Amid the chaos homes and businesses belonging to ruling party politicians were set on fire.

TUI had cancelled the holidays pro-actively until the end of the month, and had said that all customers impacted by the cancellations would be contacted.

The travel company has not yet shared an update as to whether some of those trips will resume.

Although the FCDO has lifted its advice to not travel to Sri Lanka, the situation in the country remains tumultuous.

On Friday the UN Humanitarian Office said that Sri Lanka is at risk of tipping into a full-blown humanitarian crisis as the country's economy suffers its biggest shock in decades.

The country's 22 million people are suffering from the most serious financial turmoil in seven decades, with severe shortages of fuel, medicines and other essentials amid record inflation and a devaluation of its currency.

"The economic situation in Sri Lanka is challenging with shortages of basic necessities including medicines, cooking gas, fuel and food because of a shortage of hard currency to pay for imports," the FCDO website reads.

"There may be long queues at shops and supermarkets, fuel stations, and pharmacies. There may be difficulties or delays obtaining taxis and other public transport. There are ongoing daily power cuts due to electricity rationing.

"There have been a number of protests since 31 March 2022. There have been incidents involving violence against peaceful protesters resulting in injuries and loss of life.

"Security authorities have used tear gas and water cannons against protesters."

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