Thousands of British holidaymakers are moved to safety

HURRICANE Irma has brought widespread disruption to travel and tourism, with delays or cancellations and thousands of holidaymakers evacuated.

Travel giant Thomas Cook yesterday evacuated 1,930 holidaymakers from the devastating path of the storm in Cuba.

Meanwhile, cruise liners were forced to cancel or alter sailings to avoid the approaching storm and thousands of flights were cancelled in Florida. A Thomas Cook spokesman said: “All of our customers in the region are in hotels which have been built to withstand a hurricane.

“This is the safest place for them to remain as the hurricane passes through the region.” It also brought forward flights to the UK from Orlando in Florida to try to get tourists away before the hurricane strikes there this weekend.

But none of Thomas Cook’s flights from the UK to Orlando or Cayo Coco and Varadero in Cuba will operate this weekend.

Virgin Atlantic said that its flights to Florida had been “severely disrupted” by the storm.

British Airways said that four flights to and from Florida had been cancelled and a number of others had been rescheduled. Airports across the region were expected to close and re-open as conditions on the ground allowed.

Cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival Cruise Line, have been forced to cancel, re-route or delay holidays through the Caribbean islands.

The Foreign Office has set up a hotline for people affected by the disaster: 020 7008 0000.