First Choice has apologised after one of its resorts staged entertainment which saw staff burst out of the restaurant kitchen in dark clothes firing fake guns.
The show, designed to promote a new casino at the Holiday Village Aliathon in Paphos, terrified customers who feared it was a terror attack.
It happened just days after 45 people were killed in a mass shooting at Istanbul airport and after the one-year anniversary of a beach massacre in Tunisia in which 38 people, most of them TUI customers, were shot dead.
A First Choice spokesman said: "This account of events is concerning to hear and we would like to apologise to guests who were present.
"First Choice can confirm that changes have been made to our entertainment programme with immediate effect and guidelines have been re-issued to our resort teams."
According to the Sun, staff were dressed as gangsters to advertise the new casino.
But guests said the prank was in bad taste and ‘could have given someone a heart attack’ in light of recent events.
Some regular guests said they were considering boycotting the hotel.
A similar incident happened last August at the five-star Grand Yazici Mares hotel in Icmeler, Turkey.
Jet2Holidays apologised to guests when staff dressed as ISIS-style gunmen and staged a poolside prank as part of a ‘Hollywood-themed’ show.
The hotel was busy was British customers from a number of UK tour operators, including Jet2Holidays, Thomson and Thomas Cook.
