Egypt pleads with UK to let tourists return to Sharm resort
EGYPT has renewed calls for the Government to lift its ban on British flights to the tourist resort of Sharm el-sheikh, claiming it is causing serious hardship for businesses and employees.
Downing Street imposed a blanket ban on all flights to Sharm after a Russian charter jet crashed in the Sinai Desert with the loss of 224 lives in November 2015.
British security officials worked closely with their Egyptian counterparts to overhaul security at Sharm elsheikh after it was claimed that the crash was caused by a bomb placed on the aircraft by terrorists related to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
However, Theresa May has refused to relax the ban despite the fact that the airport’s security arrangements have passed stringent requirements set by British security experts and most European countries have resumed flights.
“We find it difficult to understand why Britain keeps its ban on flights in place when virtually every other European country has given permission,” said a senior Egyptian government official. “The airport has passed every test set for it by British security officials.”
Scores of hotels have been forced to close in the resort and thousands of workers have been laid off as a result of the ban which Cairo estimates has cost the Egyptian economy around £10billion in lost revenue.
Egyptian officials say they are also confused about why Britain has allowed flights to resume to Tunisia, where 30 Britons were among holidaymakers killed by a terrorist on a beach at Sousse in June 2015, while the ban on Sharm remains in place.
“If it is safe for British holidaymakers to travel to Tunisia, then it is just as safe for them to travel to Sharm el-sheikh,” the Egyptian official said.
Both the Department of Transport, which oversaw the introduction of new security arrangements at the airport, and the Foreign Office are understood to have recommended that Britain lift the ban.
However, Downing Street has so far refused to act because of concerns over ongoing Isil-related terrorist activity in Sinai.