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17-Jan-2011 12:08 PM

Tunisia reopens all airports and airspace

Tunisia's Civil Aviation Authority reopened all airports and the country's airspace on 15-Jan-2011, a day after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia following violent anti-government protests (AFP/TAP/Xinhua/Reuters, 15-Jan-2011). On 14-Jan-2011, the Tunisian army took control of the airport and closed the nation's airspace. The authority advised travellers to contact airlines to avoid any congestion due to flight cancellations or delays. Meanwhile, TUI Deutschland on 15-Jan-2011, mobilised aircraft to evacuate all holidaymakers in Tunisia due to the violent street protests (Bloomberg, 15-Jan-2011). TUI and Nouvelair transferred around 1000 passengers out of the country and has cancelled all services to Tunisia until 24-Jan-2011. Similarly, Russia's Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy was evacuating all Russian tourists from Tunisia on 16-Jan-2011 (RIA Novosti, 15-Jan-2011). Around 200 Russian tourists were planned to be evacuated on a chartered Transaero Airlines flight. Meanwhile, LuxairTours stated (14-Jan-2011) its 272 customers in Tunisia will be repatriated and flights will be suspended. [more]

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