Thomson and First Choice Holidays are now preparing to fly all their customers back from the beach resorts of Cancún and Cozumel should they wish to cut short their holidays. Thomson currently has 2,500 customers in Mexico.
A spokeswoman for Thomson said today that a special flight will be laid on in the next 24 hours to pick up holidaymakers and bring them home. "As yet we do not have flight details or the number of people who have decided to return home," she said.
Thomson and First Choice Holidays cancelled all holidays to Cancún and Cozumel on the Yucatán Peninsula until 8 May following the change in the Foriegn and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advisory late Monday night against all but essential travel to Mexico. Yesterday, they flew empty planes out to Mexico to collect passengers who were due to return from their holidays.
Rival holiday firm Thomas Cook - which currently has 3,000 customers holidaying in Mexico - also cancelled all outbound holidays from Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow to Cancún for the next seven days. It is flying out empty planes to collect passengers booked to return home, but said that it would work hard to find spaces on flights should holidaymakers request to return early.
"There are lots of planes with capacity to bring home holidaymakers should they wish to cut their holidays short," a spokeswoman said.
The first Britons to have contracted the disease, Scottish newlyweds Iain and Dawn Askham of Polmont, near Falkirk, spent their honeymoon in Cancún.
The FCO advisory goes on to state: "British nationals resident in or visiting Mexico may wish to consider whether they should remain in Mexico at this time."
And it adds: "Routine consular and all Visa Services at the Embassy in Mexico City have been suspended until further notice. British Nationals in Mexico, who have an urgent consular issue should call the Embassy on (01 55) 5242 8500 for assistance."
A note of caution for those still planning to go to Mexico was added by Maxine Baker, travel insurance manager at moneysupermarket.com: "Should holidaymakers continue with their travel plans to Mexico against official advice and fall ill, their insurance policy is unlikely to cover them and they would have to foot the bill for any treatment or repatriation costs."
British Airways is still operating four flights a week to Mexico City, but is offering its customers the option of making amendments (a change of dates or an alternative destination up to the same value) without incurring an administration fee to bookings up until 5 May.
Because of the change in the FCO advisory, travel operators are currently offering customers due to depart to Mexico the option to make a free amendment to their holiday and select a different destination or alternative date up to the same value already booked. Alternatively, customers will also have the option to cancel their holiday and receive a full refund without incurring any cancellation charge.
In addition, Thomson and First Choice Holidays are offering refunds for customers who have curtailed their holidays. The spokeswoman said: "We are conscious that some customer's holidays have been ended earlier than expected and we feel it would be fair to offer a refund. Following ABTA's guidelines this would be would be refunded on a pro rata basis for the accommodation element of the package. On top of this, in cases where the holiday has been disrupted at an early stage we will be enhancing this refund further."
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) advised customers who have booked package holidays to contact their tour operator for the latest information regarding their holiday itineraries. Customers who have booked independently should contact the company they booked with.
• Travel advice regarding swine flu.
