Two months after it was initially announced and for the first time since 2015, the first direct flight from the United Kingdom landed at Egypt’s famous sea-resort town Sharm El Sheikh on Thursday, according to the Independent and various Egyptian media outlets. The flight, which marks the tentative yet temporary return of direct flights from the UK to a favourite holiday spot especially in winter, carried around 200 travellers from Birmingham. It is expected that two direct flights will operate to the popular seaside town until at least March 2020. Why was the ban there? Following the tragic crash of a Metrojet Airbus A320 in 2015, the UK decided to suspend all flights following suspicions that the Russian plane crash that killed 224 people was caused by a bomb, leaving up to 20,000 Britons stranded in Sharm El-Sheikh. However, in October 2019, the ban was lifted as Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, which recently topped the list of fastest-growing major airports in Africa, was deemed of adequate safety practices. In an official statement, the UK’s Foreign Office said that the decision comes in light of improvements in security procedures at the…
UK to Sharm El Sheikh Flights Temporarily Resume After a 4-Year Hiatus
December 19, 2019
