Weekend reports emerged of agents claiming to have been “deluged” by calls from worried people, while specialist Turkish agents said they had noted the “huge financial impact” that the attempted coup had on their business over the weekend.

Itir Sokmen, of Tulip Holidays based in Harringay, north London, told the Daily Mail: “It’s been a very, very busy weekend.

“We’ve had dozens of people on the phone since 7am wanting to delay their flights, some wanting to cancel their flights - it’s been terrible.”

The agency specialises in Turkey and North Cyprus, and Sokmen said the business had seen new business to Turkey impacted since Friday.

He added: “When the bombs went off in Istanbul last month, we had lots of British people wanting to delay or cancel their holidays.

“But now, with the coup, we have Turks and Kurds even wanting to change their trips.”

Meanwhile, Thomas Cook has offered free holiday cancellations to customers due to fly out to Turkey on Sunday. British Airways, Thomson and First Choice said flights were now returning to normal following temporary cancellations.

More than 2.5 million Brits travel to Turkey annually, the Foreign Office said, while Abta said at least 50,000 British tourists are currently believed to be in the country.