TUI has delayed its planned return to Bulgaria following the ongoing ban of UK travellers.

The tour operator was due to resume operations to Bourgas and Varna on 2 August but has delayed the restart until 8 August at the earliest.

All holidays up to and including that date have been cancelled, TUI said.

Bulgarian authorities banned UK arrivals on 19 July.

TUI has also cancelled its lakes and mountains holidays to Italy with non-TUI flights until 10 August while trips to Aruba, Austria (lakes and mountains), Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Florida, Italy, Mexico, Slovenia (lakes and mountains), Turkey and Tunisia have been cancelled up to and including 15 August.

In a further update, the company has also cancelled holidays which include non-TUI flights to Austria (lakes and mountains), India, Indonesia, Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand (Phuket), UAE and USA up to and including 15 August.

TUI said its programme will remain under review.

“If we need to cancel holidays because of updated Government guidance, or after reviewing our holiday programme, we will contact customers and aim to give at least seven days advance notice,” it said.

“These customers can request a full cash refund, or to change to a later date or alternative holiday with a booking incentive.

“We know some customers may be unsure about travelling this summer, so to offer continued flexibility and reassurance, fee-free changes can be made up to 14 days before travel for customers due to depart up to and including 31 October.”