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Easyjet Egypt rescue flights 'halted' | Easyjet Egypt rescue flights 'halted' |
(34 minutes later) | |
Easyjet rescue flights for Britons stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh have been suspended by Egyptian authorities, the airline has said. | |
Holidaymakers were left stuck after the UK government cancelled flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday amid fears a Russian passenger plane was brought down by a terrorist bomb. | |
Easyjet said officials are not allowing UK aircraft to land at the airport. | |
Two planes at the airport due to fly to Gatwick and Luton will still depart. | |
But Easyjet says seven other planes coming from UK to collect passengers at Sharm el-Sheikh will not be able to operate. | |
Monarch, Thomson, Thomas Cook and British Airways also had scheduled UK-bound flights for some of the estimated 19,000 British nationals on holiday in Sharm el-Sheikh. | |
Your travel questions answered | |
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Outbound flights from the UK to Sharm el-Sheikh remain suspended and the Foreign Office continues to advise against all but essential travel by air to or from Sharm el-Sheikh airport. | |
But Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin had told the BBC more than 20 flights would be leaving the resort later and the "vast majority" of British tourists who "should have come back Wednesday, Thursday and Friday... will be back by tonight". | |
Hand baggage only | |
The Russian aircraft was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg last Saturday when it crashed in the Sinai desert, killing all 224 people on board. | |
UK investigators believe a bomb was put in the hold of the Metrojet Airbus A321 before take-off, the BBC has learned. | |
The government says it received a crucial new piece of intelligence on Wednesday, which the BBC understands was based on intercepted communications between militants in the Sinai. | |
British security officials who had assessed the airport and ordered additional security measures for passengers. | |
Only hand luggage will be allowed on flights, with hold baggage being transported later by the government. | |
Mr McLoughlin said UK security officials were at the airport monitoring the baggage screening process. | |
He said reports the luggage would be transported back to the UK by the RAF was incorrect but the government was making arrangements to ensure it would be returned to passengers in a week to 10 days. |