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Russia plane crash: British tourists in Sharm el-Sheikh should be home by weekend Russia plane crash: Stranded Britons 'home by weekend'
(about 4 hours later)
British tourists stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh following a plane crash 11 days ago should be home by the end of the week, the foreign secretary has said. A "backlog" of Britons stuck in Sharm el-Sheikh after a plane crash 11 days ago should be home by the end of the week, the foreign secretary has said.
Thousands of holidaymakers remain in the resort, after routine flights were suspended and security increased amid fears the crash was caused by a bomb. Routine UK-bound flights were suspended and security raised amid fears the crash was caused by a bomb.
On Monday over 2,000 passengers returned to the UK on 11 flights. Special flights began on Friday and Philip Hammond said 7,000 Britons will have returned by the end of the day.
Philip Hammond said: "By the end of this week, we expect to have cleared the backlog." Those tourists stranded beyond their planned return date were set to be "cleared" soon after that, he said.
Some 20,000 British nationals were thought to be in the resort at the time of the crash on 31 October, which killed 224 people. Meanwhile, Easyjet's chief executive is backing calls to tighten airport security around the world.
Around 9,000 of those were on package trips with tour operators, while several thousand others had travelled there independently. Carolyn McCall, whose airline has spent five days battling to fly home stranded tourists, told the BBC it was time for a fundamental rethink in the wake of the crash.
Mr Hammond said the government's insistence of "some very significant increased security requirements" including not to allow UK passenger planes to carry hold luggage, had "caused some delays and sort of backups in what is quite a small airport operating quite close to its capacity". Her comments came as Dutch tour operator Corendon revealed it had stopped offering holidays in Sharm el-Sheikh in early 2014 after receiving intelligence information.
Inbound flights to the UK resumed on Friday. Some 7,700 passengers have now been brought back, with another 2,000 expected by Tuesday evening. Some 20,000 British nationals were thought to be in the resort at the time of the crash on 31 October. All 224 people on the board the Russian Metrojet flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg died when the aircraft came down in the Sinai desert.
All UK airlines have suspended flights from the UK to Sharm el-Sheikh for at least the next two weeks. 'Going smoothly'
Around 9,000 of the Britons were on package trips with tour operators, while several thousand others had travelled there independently.
Passengers are being allowed to travel with hand baggage only - their hold luggage is to be flown back separately by the government in the next week.
Mr Hammond said the government's insistence on the "very significant increased security requirements" had caused some delays.
But he added: "In the circumstances, the repatriation is going smoothly."
All UK airlines have suspended flights from the UK to Sharm el-Sheikh for at least the next two weeks. And the Foreign Office is advising Britons stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh not to travel home independently.
However, a businessman has revealed how he made his own way back to the UK by flying out of Sharm el-Sheikh via Istanbul.
Craig Hobson, 42, from South Shields, told the Press Association that he and his business partner made alternative arrangements after estimating he could be at the resort for an extra week.
"In our view, security was stepped up 10-fold, the army was there and we felt it was as safe as it was ever going to be," he said.
Are you in Sharm el-Sheikh? Do you have a business in the area? What will be the impact on tourism? Let us know about your experiences. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories.Are you in Sharm el-Sheikh? Do you have a business in the area? What will be the impact on tourism? Let us know about your experiences. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories.
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