Thousands return from Sharm el-Sheikh to the UK as many more remain stranded
We’re wrapping up our live coverage for today. Here’s a summary of the situation:
About 1,500 British tourists are expected to return to the UK on Saturday from Sharm el-Sheikh after airlines began operating flights from the Egyptian resort on Saturday.
A Thomas Cook flight carrying about 220 people left Sharm about 3pm bound for Gatwick, where it will touch down this evening. A second Thomas Cook flight is also expected to leave for Manchester.
Monarch has two flights, to Bristol and Manchester, while two Thomson planes will also bring holidaymakers back to Manchester tonight.
EasyJet has two flights carrying another 445 passengers due to land at Luton tonight. The company has around 4,000 passengers in Sharm el-Sheikh, of whom 1,000 have been delayed.
British Airways sent an empty plane to Sharm this morning to return holidaymakers to Gatwick.
UK government officials warned that increased safety measures mean many holidaymakers will be forced to stay in Sharm longer than they had hoped.
A Department for Transport spokesman said that the limited number of flights able to leave Sharm el-Sheikh each day for the UK meant that tour operators or airlines were likely to advise some customers to remain at their resort.
“We understand that tour operators and airlines are working to ensure that where people need to extend their stay at their resort necessary costs will be covered,” he said.
“It is important that people stay at their resort until they have confirmation from their airline or tour operator that they are on a flight back to the UK and that they follow their airline’s advice on the appropriate arrival time at the airport.”
The official spokesperson for Egypt’s foreign affairs ministry has taken to Twitter to refute the claims made today by the Daily Mail that a UK plane had to avoid an Egyptian missile earlier this year.
Preposterous allegations by @MailOnline regarding UK plane 'avoiding Egyptian missile' in August are completely inaccurate 1/3
— Egypt MFA Spokesman (@MfaEgypt) November 7, 2015
Incident involved GROUND-TO-GROUND fire exercise in military base few km off Sharm airport, no ground-to-air firing involved whatsoever 2/3
— Egypt MFA Spokesman (@MfaEgypt) November 7, 2015
Egypt & UK govs fully aware that plane was in no danger. Airliners previously informed of military exercise & instructed of procedures 3/3
— Egypt MFA Spokesman (@MfaEgypt) November 7, 2015
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Monarch plans to operate two flights from Sharm to Manchester today.
Flight ZB8009 was due to depart at 505pm local time and arrive at Manchester at 2050pm UK time, while flight ZB685 was due to leave Sharm at 5pm and land in Manchester at 2045pm.
The airline said that customers due to travel on these flights were contacted by text message.
Easyjet has posted a proposed flight schedule from Sharm on its website. Two flights - both of which were originally due to fly into Gatwick - are expected to land at Luton on Sunday. The airline will operate another three flights on Monday and Tuesday respectively, with more later in the week.
While many tourists will make it back to Britain today, many are not so lucky. Emma Beeney, who has been in the Egyptian resort with her two children for the past 10 days, had been due to fly back to Birmingham on Saturday with Monarch but did not expect to do so.
She also described witnessing “officials” at Sharm el-Sheikh airport offering tourists the chance to skip the passport control queue for £20 a head.
Ms Beeney, 45, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, said:
“There’s a few places on a couple of flights going out today but they’re giving priority to people with disabilities and young children. I have registered but I don’t think we’ll be going. I’m not even going to the airport. I’m not going to take my kids into that chaos - there’s no point queuing up and checking in.”
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Nine flights due to land in the UK on Saturday evening
A Thomas Cook flight has left Sharm el-Sheikh bound for Gatwick airport as airlines continue their efforts to bring British tourists home. The plane took off shortly before 3pm with 220 passengers and will land tonight.
It is one of nine flights expected to bring thousands of stranded tourists back to the UK today. Monarch has two flights, to Bristol and Manchester, while two Thomson planes will bring holidaymakers back to Manchester.
A second Thomas Cook flight is also expected to leave for Manchester, while British Airways sent an empty plane to Sharm el-Sheikh this morning to return holidaymakers to Gatwick.
EasyJet also plans to bring another 445 passengers back, with two planes due to fly into Luton tonight. The airline has about 4,000 passengers in Sharm el-Sheikh, of whom 1,000 have been delayed.
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Good Morning Britain producer Rav Vadgama is in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The lack of flights out from #sharmelsheikh for Brits, is now down to logistics. Too many people, too few planes, too few staff to process
— Rav Vadgama (@TVRav) November 7, 2015
Have spoken to a dozen British families here in #sharmelsheikh tonight. All are quite calm and realistic about the situation. No mass panic
— Rav Vadgama (@TVRav) November 7, 2015
The chairman of Egypt’s crash investigation committee, Ayman al-Muqaddam, says a noise can be heard in the last second of the cockpit recording from the downed Russian jet.
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Travel blogger Gary Keywood comments:
As #sharmelsheikh becomes a ghost town you have to feel sorry for all the people and businesses that rely on tourism #ttot #Travel
— Gary Keywood (@GaryKeywood) November 7, 2015
Summary
Here’s what we’ve learnt so far this afternoon:
- A British flight to Sharm el-Sheikh narrowly missed being hit by a missile in August. Holidaymakers reacted angrily to the news that the public was not informed at the time.
- A cartoon about the crash, which was published in controversial French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, has been condemned by Vladimir Putin.
- Some British tourists may have to wait up to 10 days to get home, a UK official has said.
- Only seven flights are scheduled to being holidaymakers back today, despite 2,600 still waiting at the airport or nearby hotels.
- A cockpit record did register a noise in the last second of recording, the head of an investigation committee into the crash has said.
I’m handing the reins over to my colleague Chris Johnston now so stay with us for more updates.
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Egyptian investigators refuse to speculate on bomb theory despite black box 'noise'
The head of the Egyptian-led investigation into the cause of the Sinai plane crash has acknowledged a noise can be heard in the “final second” of the plane’s recovered black box recordings.
Ayman al-Muqaddam, the chairman of the inquiry, said on Saturday that a “noise was heard in the last second of the CVR recording” but insisted it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the crash.
He claimed investigators were still in the “information gathering” stage of the process, adding that investigators were considering all possible scenarios. He confirmed the sound will be analysed in specialist labs before conclusions will be drawn.
In comments that echoed an earlier statement from Egypt’s foreign minister, al-Muqaddam also said foreign intelligence pointing towards the cause being an act of terrorism had not been shared with the investigations committee.
He urged the sources of these stories to come forward and provide them with any evidence that “could help us in the undertaking of our mission”.
The committee, made up of 47 investigators including representatives from Russia, France and Germany, visited the crash site during the week to examine and photograph the wreckage. A further visit is planned for the coming days.
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Egypt’s military has taken control of registering departing passengers for flights out of the country, a Russian official has said as tourists from Russia join the remaining Brits seeking a way home.
Arkady Dvorkovich, Russia’s deputy prime minister said there have been about 10 flights to Russia already today.
Russian airlines are sending empty planes to Egypt to bring home some of the estimated 80,000 Russians in Egypt, most of whom are in Red Sea resorts. However, it is thought many will continue their holidays and fly back on their scheduled flights.
One tourist, Ivan Zaitsev told Associated Press that his travel agent had told them their flight to Moscow would leave on Saturday, but it had not yet appeared on the monitor.
Waiting in a long queue with his wife and young son, he said: “I think if the government decided something like this they have their reasons ... we’re really hoping to fly back safely. This is the main issue now.”
Over 100 Russian passengers were left behind this morning because they didn’t want to leave their hold luggage in Egypt.
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The UK’s ambassador to Egypt, John Casson and the director of Sharm el-Sheikh airport have met to discuss the airport’s new security measures and ensure that all is being done to help British tourists get home quickly.
He told the BBC: “About 1,500 people got home yesterday. People are checking in for their flights at the airport now, there will be similar numbers today and we have got good co-operation now which will allow us to get people home as soon as possible.
“Let us remember what this has always been about is making sure that when people go home they go home safely.”
Mr Casson said he understood the frustrations of stranded holidaymakers and reassured them that British government officials were at the airport and in hotels in the resort to offer people advice around the clock.
He added: “We have measures in place now which allow us to say it is safe to fly home. That is the most important thing, it is the utmost priority for the government, and we will do it in a way that is as convenient and as quick as possible for people.”
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Ten day delay to return last British tourists, officials say
It could take up to 10 days to repatriate all of the stranded British tourists from Sharm el-Sheikh, a British official at the resort told Reuters on Saturday.
Of the 29 services scheduled to fly out on Friday, 21 were cancelled by the Egyptian authorities and some planes were forced to divert mid-flight.
The British government is increasing the number of flights and will return about 2,000 British nationals on Saturday on nine flights, the official added.
However, only one plane - a British Airways flight from London Gatwick - travelled to the resort this morning thought to be because there has been widespread confusion about how many aircraft officials the airport will allow to land and take off today.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “We will be flying our customers back to Gatwick from Sharm el-Sheikh on the BA2561 service this evening, which is due to depart at 17:20pm local time and return back into Gatwick at 21:02pm.
“We will be in touch with customers currently in Sharm el-Sheikh to confirm arrangements for their return journey to the UK. Safety and security is always our top priority.”
Only 445 passengers would be able to travel back on Easyjet’s two flights today, a spokesperson confirmed.
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British tourists arrive home from Sharm el-Sheikh airport – video
Cameras at the Sharm el-Sheikh are being checked, Egyptian officials say
Egyptian authorities are checking cameras at the Red Sea resort’s airport for any suspicious activity related to the crash of the Russian passenger airliner one week ago, security officials told Reuters.
“We want to determine if, for instance, anyone sneaked past security officials or the metal detectors. We are also trying to determine if there was any unusual activity among policemen or airport staff,” one of the officials told the agency.
His comments, along with those made by airport officials earlier, mark the first sign that Egyptian authorities might suspect the plane was brought down deliberately, as several Western governments and intelligence sources have suggested.
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The US has offered to assist the crash investigation
The US has offered to assist the investigation of the Sharm el-Sheikh plane disaster with satellite imagery and other intelligence information, but had so far not been asked for such help by either Egypt or Russia, a senior administration official said.
“There is a reason to believe it wasn’t merely an accident, but we believe the investigation should take its course,” the senior official said, adding that the US was prepared make available intelligence it has gathered about the downing of the Russian Metrojet airliner in private to investigators. “It’s important both because that’s the proper procedure and because there are issues of political credibility and all kinds of political issues, so we would rather this play out with a thorough investigation, with Egypt and Russia accepting offers of assistance, and we have offered to assist.”
Asked if that offer included satellite imagery, the US official – speaking on Friday night - said: “Sure, if asked. As far as I know, we haven’t been asked, as of yet.”
Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, claimed on Saturday that neither the US nor UK had shared intelligence with Cairo about the crash of the Airbus A321.
The senior US official said her remarks were not intended as a rebuke to the British government for its decision to raise its suspicions soon after the downing of the plane. “It’s hard because if you believe you have evidence there is an risk, you want to be address that,” she said. “We are not going to criticise that. We were in an easier position because no American carriers are going directly out of Sharm el-Sheikh...and we had issued notice to airmen to avoid flights below a certain level because of the risk.”
The official said that the US would only go public with its intelligence after the Egyptian-led investigation is completed and “if there are issues we feel were not raised in the investigation.”
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Egypt’s foreign minister: intelligence has not been shared with us – video
Earlier today, airport officials refused entry to journalists covering the story.
Sharm airport official says journos kicked out bc of "negative image" portrayed - officers allegedly taking bribes & playing video games
— Alexander Marquardt (@MarquardtA) November 7, 2015
Foreign journalists now being told that they are not allowed to enter #Sharm El Sheikh airport. We had no problem with access up until now.
— Kristen McTighe (@KristenMcTighe) November 7, 2015
The Egyptian government has refused to concede that the plane was downed by terrorists, despite airport officials launching an investigation into airport crew, saying they have no theory yet in their probe.
Egypt pushed back on Saturday against international suspicions a bomb downed a Russian plane in the Sinai, as intensifying restrictions on air travel threatened to cripple its vital tourism industry.
Sources in France close to the crash investigation told AFP that black box data pointed to a bomb having gone off and a sudden, violent demise of the Airbus less than half an hour after takeoff.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that a bomb “had more likely than not” been the cause of the explosion in which all 224 people on board lost their lives.
But Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Saturday the Egyptian-led inquiry into disaster had yet to establish any firm theory about the cause.
“We have not dismissed any possibility but there is no hypothesis yet, before the investigations are over and a full report is ready,” Shoukry said.
He said that foreign intelligence that had triggered the international travel restrictions had not been shared with Egypt.
“We expected that any technical information should have been shared with us, at a technical level, before publicising it in the media,” he said.
Already suffering after years of unrest, Egypt is heavily reliant on tourism revenues and fears the impact any firm determination that a bomb caused the crash would have on the key industry.
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Egyptian airport staff investigated over bomb allegations
Egyptian airport and security officials say an investigation has been launched into any local staff and ground crew in Sharm el-Sheikh that came into contact with the Russian plane before it crashed a week ago in the Sinai desert 23 minutes after taking off.
In what perhaps represents the first admission from Egypt that a bomb was responsible for the crash, officials told the Associated Press on Saturday that authorities are questioning airport staff and have begun surveillance on those who worked on the downed Russian Metrojet flight.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief reporters.
The British government and US officials have said intelligence suggests the plane was downed by a bomb. The crash, which killed all 224 people onboard, dealt another huge blow to Egypt’s battered tourism sector, which is yet to fully recover from years of political turmoil.
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The operation to repatriate British tourists stuck in the resort descended into chaos yesterday when Egypt cut the number of flights it would allow to fly them out.
Eight commercial aircraft from Luton, Gatwick and Stansted in London stayed overnight in Larnaca, Cyprus while three from Manchester and Birmingham landed empty at the western Paphos airport after being diverted from Sharm el-Sheikh, Aspris said.
PHOTO easyJet planes lined up to bring tourists home from Sharm el-Sheikh waiting on the tarmac in Cyprus pic.twitter.com/VyxBYVRnEs
— Aviation Newswire (@av_newswire) November 7, 2015
Only eight of the 29 flights scheduled to fly Britons home left the resort on Friday because Egypt said Britain’s insistence that passengers returned with only hand luggage meant the airport was unable to cope.
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Thousands of UK tourists still stuck in Sharm el-Sheikh
Meanwhile, 2,600 British tourists are still stranded in the Sharm el-Sheikh airport.
11 empty British planes are on standby in Cyprus and potentially will be used to fly them home, airport authorities in the Mediterranean island told Reuters on Saturday.
Britain halted flights to and from the Red Sea resort after a Russian plane crashed over the Sinai Peninsula on 31 October with 224 lives lost. French investigators believe a bomb likely brought the airliner down with an explosion heard on black box data.
An airport official in Cyprus said it was not yet clear what role Cypriot airports might play in efforts to fetch the stranded holidaymakers, but added that almost a dozen British commercial aircraft were at the island’s two airports.
“It’s possible that they’ll be used for this purpose,” said Adamos Aspris, a spokesman for airports operator Hermes Airports. “They might be used if circumstances allow it.”
A Cypriot foreign ministry official said there had been no request for Cyprus to assist in efforts to fetch the tourists.
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Holidaymakers react to missile dodge
UK tourists have reacted angrily to the news.
You are kidding me? Missile shot at UK flight and we carried on flying to Sharm? DfT felt it was all ok? Wtf?? https://t.co/u0Vg8KSaHx
— Jason Good (@JasonGood) November 7, 2015
Apparently on 23 August a Thomson jet had a near miss with a missile within a 1,000 feet of it near Sharm el Sheik. Today we know about it!
— Tina (@ElContador2000) November 7, 2015
Flights should have been banned then, or a least the security beefed up after missile near miss! https://t.co/vWq7Je5h6b
— Anthony Kelly (@Anthony_M_Kelly) November 7, 2015
Now we discover that a missile came close to a plane landing in Sharm on 23 August. Why governments HIDE information all the time?
— Alessandro Rossi (@ARossi07051966) November 7, 2015
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Government deemed airspace safe after missile near miss
Regarding the incident, a spokesperson for Thomson said: “Upon landing into Sharm el-Sheikh, an initial assessment was conducted and the event was immediately reported to the Department for Transport (Dft) in line with established protocol.”
A full investigation into the incident was then carried out by department in conjunction with other government experts.
“After reviewing the details of the case,” the statement from Thomson said, “the investigation concluded that there was no cause for concern and it was safe to continue our flying programme to Sharm el Sheikh.”
The Dft have confirmed that the incident took place. Their investigators concluded that it was likely to be connected to routine exercises being conducted by Egyptian military at the time and was not a targeted attack.
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Another tourist, Rob was holidaying in Egypt with a friend at the time of the incident, having flown out of Luton on 20 August. He remembers an increase in security on his return flight on 2 September but was not informed of why this was.
He said: “I’m shocked but I actually had noticed an upturn in security checks on our return flight, though still somewhat relaxed.
“I do think that perhaps the government should have taken action at that point. Perhaps they were on their summer holidays?”
British tourist Rosie Maria Kennedy flew to Sharm el Sheikh airport from Gatwick with her boyfriend just a day after the near-miss. She said: “It shocks me to the core that mine and my boyfriend’s lives were put at risk by a complete lack of response to this real danger to life.”
She also expressed anger at the pilot for not going public about the incident. She said: “I would also challenge the integrity of the pilot. By not whistleblowing the incident, he did not do what he morally should have done by helping in covering it up.
Had she known about what happened the day before, she would have been happy losing out on her holiday, she says.
“They should have stopped all flights to Sharm El Sheikh after that incident. You essentially put your life in the hands of the government and holiday companies, trusting they have your best interests at heart, but they clearly do not.”
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Welcome to the Guardian’s liveblog, which will chart the news coming out of Sharm el Sheikh today as they happen.
UK plane narrowly avoided missile in August
British holidaymakers who flew to Sharm el Sheikh in August when a UK plane narrowly avoided a missile while arriving at the beleagured resort have voiced anger over not being told about the incident.
One tourist vowed never to go to the resort again after learning that the incident happened on the same day she flew into the airport on 23 August. She said: “I am never going to Sharm el Sheikh again, just seen a rocket missile was fired at a UK aircraft on the day we flew to Sharm in August”.
I am never going to Sharm el Sheikh again, just seen a rocket missile was fired at a UK aircraft on the day we flew to Sharm in August ?!?!
— lucy (@spiceblackford) November 7, 2015
The incident on 23 August was dismissed at the time by the British government and has not been linked to the Russian plane crash - now thought to have been caused by a bomb on board. However, questions are now being asked about the safety of flying into the region and whether the Department for Transport (Dft) made the right call in August.
The pilot for the Thomson flight, which was carrying 189 passengers, spotted the missile from the cockpit and was forced to take evasive action. The plane landed safely although it has been reported that the pilots and crew were deeply shaken by the event. The holidaymakers on board, however, were not informed of the near-miss.
No statement has been made regarding the decision not to inform passengers when the plane landed in the Red Sea resort, despite increasing outrage that the details of the incident are only becoming public now, over two months later.
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