Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium (HQ, Brussels National) has announced that it will resume flights from Belgium to holiday destinations in Tunisia on April 8, following a relaxing of travel advice to the Mediterranean North African country. The holiday specialist will start by offering a weekly service to Enfidha on the eastern coast.
Flights were suspended in mid-2015 following terrorist attacks at resorts near Sousse in which 38 people, mostly British tourists, were killed. A report in the Guardian last year found that tourist numbers from Europe to Tunisia have declined by 58% since the terror attacks. The tourism sector makes up around 15% of the country’s GDP.
The announcement that flights would resume comes after travel advice from Belgium’s foreign ministry was slightly eased this week. The advice now cautiously states that “travellers can go to Tunis, on the Mahdia-Monastir-Sousse-Hammamet-Nabeul-Tunis-Bizerte coastline” although the rest of the country remains at “only travel if necessary” in most areas and the western borders remain as “do not travel”.
TUI fly (Belgium) (TB, Brussels National) has also announced it will resume flights to Tunisia next summer, but hasn’t set a firm date for launch.
