Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway lift travel warnings to South Sinai cities

Four Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway decided on Thursday and Friday to remove travel warnings to Egypt’s South Sinai cities of Sharm El-Shiekh, Dahab and Saint Catherine, state news agency MENA reported Friday.

A statement by the Danish Embassy in Cairo said it had decided, along with other North European countries, to remove its travel warnings to South Sinai, effective from Thursday 9 February.

“Denmark is no longer warning its nationals of travelling to major touristic destinations in Egypt including Cairo, Alexandria, the Red Sea, Luxor, Aswan and South Sinai,” a Danish embassy statement said according to the agency.

The change in the travel advice means that those countries no longer have travel advice for their citizens whom wish to travel to South Sinai and its tourist destinations.

The number of the Danish tourists that visited Egypt reached 100,000 in 2009, according to the latest statistics by Egypt’s State Information Service.

More than 40,000 Norwegian tourists visit Egypt annually, according to the figures.

A number of European airlines and governments introduced restrictions on flights to Sharm El-Sheikh over security concerns after a Russian passenger jet crashed in Sinai in 2015, killing 224 people, most of whom were holidaymakers.

Russia suspended passenger flights to Egypt shortly after the crash. Negotiations to resume flights have been taking place since the original suspension decision.

Last Month, the German transportation ministry removed a restriction on German airlines—imposed in the wake of a Russian plane crash, which required them to fly at a minimum altitude of 26,000 feet above South Sinai.

Source: Ahram Online  and Daily News Egypt