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Swine flu causes flight cancellations

Thousands of travellers were stranded at UK airports following the cancellation of flights to Mexico as a result of the swine flu outbreak. Holiday operators such as Thomas Cook, Virgin and First Choice cancelled all Mexico flights after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised against all but essential travel to Mexico. Empty aircraft flew out of Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow airports to collect British tourists who wanted to cut short their holidays. TUI AG and Thomas Cook are not planning to resume flights to Mexico until 8 May at the earliest. The decision to suspend flights to Mexico follows the World Health Organisation's announcement that swine flu has claimed at least 150 lives and is no longer containable as cases have been reported outside Mexico. The health secretary, Alan Johnson, confirmed that 25 possible cases of swine flu have been reported in Britain so far. The first confirmed cases were of Iain and Dawn Askham, a newly married couple from Scotland who have been hospitalised with the disease since returning from their honeymoon in Mexico.

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