Foreign Office Advice Against Travel to Sri Lanka Reinstated

After lifting the travel ban for UK travellers to Sri Lanka on the 10th of June, the FCDO have instated new Foreign Office advice against travel to Sri Lanka in response to further concerns of unrest in the country.  

The new Foreign Office advice against travel to Sri Lanka was instated on the Foreign Travel Advice page for travellers on Tuesday the 5th of July ‘due to the impact of the current economic crisis’. There have been several warnings and updates to the advice for Sri Lanka over the past couple of months due to a fuel and food crisis that is taking the main concern for the travel industry.  

A warning was originally issued on the 13th of May due to political unrest and shortages and these issues have since posed further concerns for the FCDO. The Foreign Office advice warns travellers from travelling to Sri Lanka for all by essential travel due to shortages in ‘basic necessities’. These necessities include fuel, food, and medicines. This advice, as previously with advice for Sri Lanka, does not apply to airside transit through the international airport in Colombo.  

The FCDO are advising all travellers to ensure all journeys to Sri Lanka are planned greatly in advance, including contingency plans in case of disruption. It is also greatly recommended that travellers keep up to date on the status of their flight as their travel date approaches and allow extra time for travelling to and from the airport.  

On Tuesday the 5th of July, when the update came out, the FCDO stated, “Sri Lanka is experiencing a severe economic crisis which has led to shortages of basic necessities including medicines, cooking gas, fuel and food. 

“There is a major shortage of fuel [diesel and petrol] affecting transport, businesses and emergency services. There are daily power cuts due to electricity rationing. This has led to protests and violent unrest. Further protests, demonstrations, roadblocks and violent unrest could occur at short notice.” 

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