Travel question: Can we cancel our flight and get a refund after Sri Lanka travel ban?

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The Foreign Office has added the island to its no-go list (Getty/iStock)

Q I have recently booked a £5,000 holiday to Sri Lanka, departing in October. With the news that the island is off-limits according to the Foreign Office, surely we can cancel and get a full refund? But the travel company says no. What are our rights?

A Yesterday afternoon, five days after the murderous attacks in Sri Lanka, the Foreign Office added the Indian Ocean nation to its no-go list. It joins North Korea, Venezuela and much of Iraq as somewhere where the FCO advises against “all but essential travel”.

Your right to cancel depends on when you are due to travel. Abta, the travel association, says: “Customers who are due to travel imminently to the island on package holidays will be offered options of deferring their date of travel, transferring to another destination or a full refund.”