British Airways scraps flights from London to Sharm El Sheikh 'indefinitely'
British Airways has announced plans to abandon all flights to the popular Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh "indefinitely".
The announcement by BA on Tuesday delivers another blow to Egypt's traumatised tourist industry, after the UK instructed air carriers to suspend all flights from the UK to Sharm El-Sheikh last year.
It comes a day after reports surfaced that most other UK airlines, including EasyJet and Monarch who had flown to the resort, were eyeing to resume flights later this year. It is unclear if the BA decision will impact on the wider industry.
The initial flight ban was imposed following the crash of a Metrojet Airbus A320 in the Sinai desert, which has been blamed on the Islamic State group. The plane crashed shortly after take-off from the Red Sea resort, killing all 244 passengers and crew on the charter flight to St Petersburg.
The UK ban on flights to the resort has been kept in place ever since, although it is expected to be removed before the end of the year. The Egyptian government has spent tens of millions of dollars enhancing security at airports across the country, but it is unclear if it will be enough to win back confidence.
Even before the Metrojet tragedy, business was down and the number of visitors anaemic as a result of the ongoing political turbulence rocking the country and the region.
Tuesday's announcement comes as a surprise, with reports in Egyptian press earlier this month indicating that BA might resume flights as early as September.
In a statement to Sky News on Tuesday, BA said: "The safety and security of our customers will always be our top priority and we have suspended our flights to Gatwick and Sharm El-Sheikh indefinitely. Customers who hold bookings on any cancelled services for the coming winter season can claim a full refund or can use the money to cover a new booking with us for an alternative destination."
Daily flights from London to Cairo by BA will continue as scheduled.
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