Thomas Cook resumes Tunisia flights today – so is it safe to holiday there?
The Foreign office lifted its travel restrictions on the country last summer - two years after the terror attack that killed 30 Brits
THOMAS Cook resumes flights to Tunisia today - nearly three years after 30 Brits were killed during an attack by an Islamic State extremist in a popular coastal resort.
The first package holiday to Tunisia sold to UK customers after the Sousse massacre flies from Birmingham to Enfidha.
The travel company is starting small – sending customers to eight hotels near Hammamet, with three flights a week from Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester.
From May onwards, they are boosting their flights to seven a week.
The company relaunched its Tunisian holidays last August - less than a month after the Foreign Office lifted its restrictions against travel to the country.
Flights to resorts in the north African country had been banned since 30 Brits were killed during an attack by an Islamic State extremist in Port El Kantaoui in 2015.
On June 26 of that year, Imperial Marhaba hotel in the Mediterranean resort of Sousse was hosting 565 guests when Seifeddine Rezgui launched an attack on people on the beach, killing 38.
For two years since the attack, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advised against all but essential travel to Tunisia and warned against going to certain areas all together.
As a result, there were no direct flights between the UK and Monastir or Enfidah airports, although there were still daily Tunis Air flights from Tunis Carthage to London.
Security in the country has improved enormously in the years since the attack, although the Foreign Office does still warn that the risk of another attack is high.
Thomas Cook's chief executive Peter Fankhauser said it had done everything it could in terms of security.
He told the BBC: "It would be foolish of me to say that any destination is 100 percent safe but what I can say is that we have taken time to make the decision to prepare our programme."
When Thomas Cook first relaunched their holiday packages last summer, customer welfare Carol MacKenzie said: “We benefit from having had a holiday programme and resort team in place for our German, Belgian and French customers, whose governments did not recommend against travel to Tunisia.
"Since it closed for British holidaymakers two years ago, we’ve had lots of customers asking us when Tunisia will be back on sale.
"Its soft, long beaches with year-round sun, historic ruins and enchanting desert villages make Tunisia a destination that attracts lots of loyal visitors.”
Last week, Thomas Cook revealed that Spanish hotels were struggling to attract British customers this summer - with price-conscious customers looking to cheap breaks in Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt instead.
The travel company have revealed that the shift east from Spain has come as a result of raising hotel prices in the country.
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Demand for holidays in the eastern Mediterranean has returned after two years of tourists staying away over security concerns.
Because of the previous lack of customers, Tunisian holidays are currently extremely cheap this summer.
Thomas Cook is offering including flights, during the summer holidays, from £634 per person.
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