Thompson & First Choice
All flights to Mombasa have been cancelled until October
Travel agents Thomson and First Choice have cancelled all flights to Mombasa until October. In addition, around 400 holidaymakers will be flown back as a precaution. This comes after the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) issued a warning yesterday advising against travel to areas within 37 miles of the Kenya-Somali border and Nairobi.
The warning was issued due to the “high threat” posed by militant Islamist al-Shabab group. TUI Travel, operators of Thomson and First Choice, announced those already in the country would be flown home by Monday.
Long-haul travel company Kuoni has also said it was not offering holidays to the Kenyan coast for the time-being. They said in a statement "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 United States, France and Australia have also issued similar alerts, prompting anger from the Kenyan government who criticised the advice as "obviously unfriendly".
Earlier this month three people were killed and more than 80 were wounded in explosions on two buses in the capital Nairobi. The Kenyan government said al-Shabab, a group linked to al-Qaeda, was behind the attacks.