Tour operators Thomson and First Choice are bringing back holidaymakers
The companies have cancelled all flights to Kenya until the end of October
Follows change in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice
Explosion in Mombasa earlier this month killed three and injured 16
Friday, May 16, 2014
A number of UK travel companies are suspending holidays to Kenya, with hundreds of British tourists being evacuated under armed guard because of a growing terror threat.
Tour operators Thomson and First Choice are bringing holidaymakers home after a change in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice.
The two companies have cancelled all flights to the East African country until the end of October, while long-haul travel company Kuoni is, for the time being, not offering holidays to the Kenyan coast.
Earlier this month, a bomb attack at a bus station in the coastal city of Mombasa killed three people and injured around 16.
Another explosion also damaged a hotel in the city during rising tensions and a a recent spate of al-Shabab-linked incidents.
Around 100,000 Britons travel to Kenya every year, and many have been devastated by the change in circumstances.
Andy Coughlan was on 'a dream holiday' after with his wife Irene, 53, who was told she had gone into remission after suffering breast cancer.
'We’re absolutely devastated,' Mr Coughlan, 53, told The Daily Telegraph. 'Ren had been seriously ill for a long time and this was the first time after all the chemo that she was ready to travel.
'She said she wanted to wait for her hair to grow back. As soon as it did, we were on our way here.'
The couple from Swansea were staying at the luxury Diani beach and had only arrived in Kenya on Tuesday.
Earlier this week the FCO changed its advice for Kenya to advise against all but essential travel to Mombasa island and within 3.1 miles of the coast from Mtwapa creek in the north to Tiwi in the south.
Kuoni said today: 'Although the advice does not include Moi International Airport, Diani beach or Malindi, the main road to access these resorts goes through the restricted area defined by the FCO advice.
'This means that we are no longer able to offer holidays to the Kenyan coast at present.'
The company added that it would contact all customers who were due to travel in the next seven days and this would continue on a rolling basis until the FCO advice changed.
Kuoni said that any customers travelling from the UK within the next seven days with an itinerary that included the coast were able to cancel free of charge or amend to an alternative destination with no administration fee but at the applicable cost.
The company went on: 'For any customers who are travelling to other parts of Kenya on safari or staying in a lodge and don't have Mombasa included in their itinerary, they will not be affected by the current FCO advice and holidays will continue as normal.'
Thomson and First Choice said they had been continuously monitoring the situation as it developed and have been working very closely with the FCO and follow its advice at all times.
The companies went on: 'As a result of the change in FCO advice, the decision has been taken to cancel all our outbound flights to Mombasa, Kenya, up to and including October 31.
'As a precautionary measure, we have also taken the decision to repatriate all customers currently on holiday in Kenya, including our Air Fare passengers, back to the UK on Thursday and Friday this week.'
According to reports, Thomson has about 400 customers in Kenya, including those in Mombasa and on safari.
The FCO advice reads: 'There is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping. The main threat comes from extremists linked to Al Shabaab, a militant group that has carried out attacks in Kenya in response to Kenya's military intervention in Somalia.
'There has been a spate of small-scale grenade, bomb and armed attacks in Nairobi (especially the area of Eastleigh), Mombasa, and North Eastern Province.
'You should take care in public places where people gather, and exercise a heightened level of vigilance.'
A spokeswoman for the FCO said: 'We estimate there are 5,000 British nationals resident along the coast and approximately 500 in Mombasa and surrounding area.'