This comes as prime minister Boris Johnson forces all “non-essential” shops to close in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. 

The operator will only be taking urgent calls until 25 March. 

“Today, our team will be focusing on the urgent repatriation of customers currently still abroad, so we would ask our travel agent partners only to get in touch today for urgent issues, by emailing or leaving a message on our normal reservations number,” said Gordon McCreadie, If Only’s product and distribution director.

“We will also be using the temporary closure of our phone lines to allow time to migrate our systems, enabling all members of staff to work from home, as per government advice.

“From tomorrow, Wednesday 25 March, all calls will be redirected to our incredible reservations team working remotely and it is business as usual.”

He thanked all travel agent partners for their understanding.

Any agent with an urgent enquiry should email info@ifonly.net with the subject line URGENT or if calling, use the standard reservations number 0141 955 4000 and leave a message.