Thomson halts Sharm el-Sheikh flights until March as security concerns linger

Thomson Airways has extended its cancellation of all flights to Sharm el-Sheikh until at least March 2016, suggesting British holidaymakers will not return to the Egyptian resort for several months.

The UK government suspended flights to Sharm on 4 November after an Airbus 321 operated by Russian airline Metrojet crashed, killing 224 people. Islamic State jihadis claimed responsibility for bombing the jet.

More than 16,000 Britons stranded in the area were brought home on a series of rescue flights amid heightened security.

No flights have operated between the UK and Sharm since 17 November because the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is advising against all but essential travel using the Red Sea resort’s airport.

Thomson Airways announced on Wednesday it had cancelled flights until at least 23 March. EasyJet has confirmed the same action up to 29 February.

British Airways has said it will not operate flights to the Egyptian resort until after 13 February at the earliest, while Monarch services are suspended up to 24 January.

The Association of British Travel Agents has said the decision on whether to use Sharm airport is being made by the UK authorities rather than the airlines.

Travel analyst Bob Atkinson from Travel Supermarket said the length of the suspension suggested that security issues at the airport were proving difficult to solve.

Asked when he thought services may resume, he said: “I suspect they will come back at some point. The longer it goes on makes you think: ‘Why are they delaying it so long if it’s as simple as making sure security checks are in place?’

“It would indicate there are more concerns than they maybe originally thought and it may well be that the Egyptian authorities are taking longer to resolve it for some reason.”

Atkinson said he believed the Egyptians would be doing “everything possible within their powers” to give the UK confidence about the safety of its citizens. “They are so heavily reliant on the tourism industry and Sharm is the big hitter of all their major centres,” he explained.

The FCO travel advice states that the UK is working with the Egyptian authorities and liaising with travel companies to enable flights to resume “as soon as appropriate security arrangements are in place”.