UK Flights Repatriating Tourists From Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh To Stop Tuesday

British airlines will stop repatriating holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday, and anyone who stays will have to fly back “at their own risk”, the UK government warned.

Thousands of British tourists have been flown back from the Red Sea resort since Britain said a bomb on board was probably behind the crash of a Russian jet that took off from there on October 31.

The airlines “have assured us that they have sufficient capacity to return all British tourists to the UK by Tuesday 17 November,” the British government said in a statement on Friday.

“British airlines estimate that after this date, there will be fewer than 200 of their passengers remaining in the resort,” it said.

Anyone staying “should make their own alternative arrangements for returning to the UK.

“This may involve having to travel with an airline to which enhanced UK security measures, e.g. separate baggage flights, do not apply. Travellers are advised that they do so at their own risk,” it added.

An estimated 20,000 British tourists were holidaying in the resort when a Russian jet crashed over the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.

After warning about the possibility of a bomb on November 4, Britain said it was warning against any non-essential air travel to Sharm el-Sheikh and dispatched security experts to the airport.

Many British tourists have since been flown back on special repatriation flights by British airlines.

Monarch airline also on Friday said it was cancelling all scheduled flights to Sharm el-Sheikh up to and including December 19.

Source : Ahram online