The Foreign Office is warning Britons not to travel to Sri Lanka unless absolutely necessary

The Foreign Office’s travel advice for Sri Lanka has been updated, with holidaymakers from the UK being warned not to travel to the country unless there is a compelling reason

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Sri Lanka, urging Brits to avoid travel to the country unless absolutely necessary.

The change in advice comes after nationwide protests took place across Sri Lanka as the country faces an economic crisis that includes shortages of medicines, fuel and food. Locals also suffer from daily power outages due to electricity rationing.

Protests have been taking place since March 31, while a state of emergency was declared in May alongside an island-wide curfew.

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Violence against peaceful protesters in recent days has prompted the Foreign Office to update its travel advice to warn British travelers not to travel unless they have good cause.

The new advice reads: “The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advises against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka due to the ongoing political and economic instability. This advice does not apply to airside transit via Sri Lanka International Airport.”

The Foreign Office warns that on May 9 “several incidents related to violence against peaceful protesters took place” including areas in Colombo and Kandy and that “other incidents may take place”.

If you have booked a holiday or trip to Sri Lanka you will need to contact your tour operator and airline directly.

When the Federal Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel, travel companies typically cancel all travel they operate and offer customers options such as rebooking at a later date or receiving a full refund. They can also offer you an alternative holiday for the same dates that you should travel, which you can also choose if you wish.

For example, TUI has already confirmed that due to the change in advice it will be canceling holidays until the end of May, although it said anyone currently on holiday can continue with their short break as planned.

The travel giant issued a statement, explaining: “Due to the ongoing political and economic instability in Sri Lanka, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has advised against all but essential travel.

“As a result, we have unfortunately had to cancel all trips to Sri Lanka departing up to and including May 27, 2022.”

“We will be proactively contacting all affected customers in order of departure date to discuss their options.

“Please note that this advice does not apply to customers traveling through Sri Lanka International Airport and customers currently at the resort can continue to enjoy their holiday as planned.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and will update customers should there be any further updates.

“We would like to thank our customers for their understanding at this time.”

If you have booked your flights and hotel separately, you will need to contact your airline and accommodation directly. As flights to Sri Lanka are not banned, your flight may still be operational – in which case a refund is not guaranteed.

In this case, you may have to make compromises, e.g. B. accepting vouchers, rebooking to a later date or rebooking flights to another destination (although in this case you may have to pay a fare difference).

Your accommodation will depend on the terms of your booking policy – again, you may have to compromise with a rebooking instead of a refund.

It’s worth noting that if you decide to travel against the advice of the Foreign Office, your travel insurance will be void. So if something goes wrong, e.g.

For more information on the situation in Sri Lanka and extended travel advice, please visit gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sri-lanka.