Foreign Sec. confirms UK flight ban to Sharm el-Sheikh

LONDON

Britain will not resume flights to Sharm el-Sheikh until it believes flying to Egyptian resort’s airport is safe, U.K. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said.

The government suspended all U.K. flights to and from the resort over concerns that last weekend’s Russian airliner crash may have been caused by a bomb smuggled on board the aircraft.

“We will not resume normal flying activity until we are confident that there are long-term sustainable arrangements in place that make flying between the U.K. and Sharm el-Sheikh safe,” Hammond told BBC radio on Thursday morning.

Philip Hammond also said his country had discussed putting emergency security measures in place to ensure British aircrafts can be allowed to bring hundreds of stranded British tourists home.

He did not expand on his government’s statement that Saturday’s Metrojet flight, which crashed shortly after leaving the Egyptian resort for St. Petersburg, “may well have been brought down by an explosive device”.

But the assessment was supported by U.S. intelligence officials, who said someone at Sharm el-Sheikh airport may have helped smuggle a bomb on the flight.

“This airport has lax security. It is known for that,” an unnamed official told CNN. “But there is intelligence suggesting an assist from someone at the airport.”

Ireland has also suspended all flights to the resort, and Hammond said he expected other countries to follow on Thursday.

“What we are sharing with all our partners is our conclusion. And I expect during the course of today you will see more and more of those partners looking at our conclusions and listening to our explanations and deciding that they too want to take a precautionary approach.”

All of the 19 flights scheduled to fly from the U.K. to Sharm el-Sheikh have been canceled, effectively stranding the hundreds of passengers who had been expecting to take the aircrafts home by return.