Sharm rescue efforts will continue until Thursday
The travel trade is continuing to work around the clock to make arrangements to bring holidaymakers back from Sharm el Sheikh and to deal with forward holiday cancellations.
The rescue effort is expected to continue throughout this week as airlines are forced to stagger their flight departures from Egypt.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said due to capacity constraints and tighter security at the airport, holidaymakers are facing delays of two or three days ‘at the most’ after their scheduled return date.
But flight schedules show some travellers are being forced to wait even longer.
Passengers who were booked to fly back to Gatwick with Monarch on Sunday, for example, are having to wait until Thursday based on the latest timetable.
Monarch said on Sunday night it has 2,000 customers still in resort.
Today it plans to operate two flights: Flight ZB097 to London Luton and Flight ZB249 to London Gatwick but added tomorrow’s flights were not yet confirmed.
It said it hoped all passengers would be returned to the UK by the end of the week.
The airline added it would be looking at its cancellation policy this morning and announcing any future changes.
Thomson has confirmed that four of its flights will leave tonight from Sharm el Sheikh to Manchester, Birmingham, Gatwick and Edinburgh.
It added that outbound flights to Sharm el Sheikh remain cancelled up to and including Thursday November 12.
EasyJet said it has already brought back 1,249 passengers and will operate two more flights today.
EZY9769 to London Luton is due to depart at 18:45 local time in Egypt and EZY9355 at 20.45.
Following these flights, easyJet said 2,200 of its passengers will remain in Sharm.
Meanwhile, Russia is also flying thousands of its citizens home after suspending flights to and from the whole of Egypt.
Although Russia initially criticised the UK government’s decision to suspend flights, on Friday President Vladimir Putin signed a temporary flight ban which came into force on Sunday.
It is believed around 80,000 Russians were in Egypt at the time of the decision.
Russians account for nearly a third of all overseas visitors to Egypt, most staying in resorts such as Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada.
Mr Hammond added that airport security would have to be reviewed in areas where Islamic State militants are active as it becomes more likely that the cause of the air crash was a bomb.
He said this could mean extra costs and delays at airports.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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