LONDON, UK (4 Jan 2005) -- All the major UK tour operators have now scrapped holidays to the areas worst hit by the tsunami disaster until the end of January, it was announced today. The decision was taken by the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) which represents the vast majority of holiday companies. Most of the big tour operators announced yesterday that they were extending from January 7 to January 31 the ban on packages to the coastal areas of Sri Lanka and Thailand. Now all FTO member companies will follow suit. But British holidaymakers will still be able to take trips to non-coastal parts of Sri Lanka and Thailand. Also, the tourist areas of the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives have escaped relatively unscathed and flights there are going out as normal this weekend. The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said today that of the estimated 6,000 UK package holiday tourists in the affected areas, just seven were now unaccounted for. 'The latest information we have is that five package holidaymakers died,' said Abta's Frances Tuke. Those unaccounted for do not include flight-only customers, nor backpackers. Meanwhile, a special relief flight organised by the First Choice holiday company landed at Gatwick airport early this morning with 300 UK holidaymakers on board who had flown in from Male in the Maldives. The aircraft was met by First Choice staff and the company is providing counselling for anyone traumatised by events. Tomorrow a Foreign Office-chartered British Airways jumbo jet will leave Bangkok and land late afternoon at Heathrow with nearly 300 UK holidaymakers from Thailand on board. | 
