Normal booking conditions still apply as the Foreign Office is not advising against travel to Mexico and airlines continue to fly there, the Association of British Travel Agents said. Tour operators can, at their discretion, offer holidaymakers and business travellers an alternative destination, but are under no obligation to do so. The current state of Foreign Office advice also means that a holidaymaker would not be able to claim against their insurance policy, should they cancel the trip.

However should holidaymakers fall ill in Mexico the policy would cover any medical expenses. If the Foreign Office decides to advise against travel to Mexico, travellers would be entitled to cancel the trip. But then anyone pressing ahead with the holiday would find that their travel insurance would not cover them for any medical expenses should they fall ill. At the moment airlines are continuing to fly to Mexico.

A spokesman for the industry trade body, the International Air Transport Association, said that it was taking advice from the World Health Organisation. "We are working with both bodies and at this point we have been told that there is no need to impose restrictions on travel," an IATA spokesman said. Should the crisis escalate airlines are ready to implement the guidelines that were last used during the SARS outbreak in 2003.

This would include pre-screening of passengers who displayed any symptoms of the disease at airports in any of the affected countries. The measure is thought of as the most effective way of preventing the disease spreading across the world by minimising contact between healthy travellers and those carrying the illness. In 2008, the last year for which official figures are available, 315,568 British nationals visited Mexico.

Seven airlines offer indirect or direct flights from Heathrow to Mexico City: British Airways, United Airlines, KLM, Iberia, AeroMexico, American Airlines and Mexicana. A British Airways spokesman said that it would continue to operate its daily flight to Mexico City.

However crew on the route had been told they should contact their GP immediately if they developed any flu symptoms. Meanwhile, the Port Health Authority, which is responsible for protecting Britain in the event of a pandemic, has asked airlines to make it aware of any suspected cases. The swine flu fears could not have come at a worse time for the aviation industry, which is already reeling from the impact of the global recession.

More than 30 airlines have folded in the last 15 months as the industry has been hit by soaring fuel prices last summer and a slump in passenger numbers. Even before the latest fears, the industry said that it was facing its biggest crisis since the 2003 SARS outbreak, which has led to the dropping of routes and grounding of planes.

source: www.telegraph.co.uk