Holiday Companies Monitoring The Egypt Crisis Closely

Following the success of the protests in Tunisia earlier this month, those in Egypt keen to see the downfall of the government and president Mubarak have battled with police for a few days now in Cairo. Protests are expected to continue over the weekend and call for a major protest after prayers on Friday has been issued. 

All this disruption and civil unrest has led to a concern amongst travel companies and whilst the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) have stated that the area remains safe, holiday makers are poised to cancel holidays should the advice change. 

The FCO has advised those on holiday to avoid the demonstrations as the protests have turned violet and hundreds of people have been arrested and as a precautionary measure only, the holiday firm Thomas Cook yesterday decided to cancel excursions to Cairo from those on the Red Sea.

In a statement, TUI Travel said: “We are aware of the protests currently taking place in Cairo and are monitoring the situation and taking FCO advice. The vast majority of our tour operations are in Sharm el Sheikh, which is a considerable distance - indeed, an eight hour drive - from Cairo.

“Obviously the health and safety of our customers and staff in the destination remains our top priority and we will of course continue to assess the situation.”

A spokesperson for the holiday firm Thomas Cook said: “We continue to monitor the situation in Egypt and we are in close contact with the FCO. Our experienced teams on the ground assure us that no tourist areas at the Red Sea have been affected in any way by the recent demonstrations.

They are fully operational and holidaymakers are continuing to enjoy the popular resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada.”

The FCO however did say that no travel restrictions were in place but did add “There have been a number of violent demonstrations in Cairo and other locations across Egypt over the past week. You should avoid political gatherings and demonstrations and respect any advice or instruction from the local security authorities.”