It could be "some time" before all British tourists stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh are home, the prime minister has said, as he defended the
suspension of air links as "vital" to ensure safety.
David Cameron said it was increasingly likely a "terrorist bomb" caused a Russian passenger jet to crash killing all 224 people on board on Saturday.
UK security experts are working with local authorities to get Britons home.
Monarch airlines says three "rescue flights" will operate on Friday.
The airline said the flights would be in addition to its two scheduled flights. British Airways, meanwhile, confirmed it would be operating two flights.
About 20,000 Britons are estimated to be in the Red Sea resort, including 1,000 residents.
UK-Sharm el-Sheikh flights grounded: Live coverage
Your travel questions answered
Four theories about the Russian plane crash
In other latest developments:
The Kremlin says theories about the cause of the crash of Metrojet Airbus 321 are "speculation" at this stage - Mr Cameron confirmed he would call Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the developments
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is advising its citizens against travel to or from Sharm el-Sheikh airport, but says flight suspensions are down to individual airlines
Extra UK consular staff have been drafted in to Sharm el-Sheikh airport
A Ministry of Defence source says a small team of UK military personnel are in the resort to advise Foreign Office officials and Department of Transport officials on logistics and security
Egyptian officials said the cockpit voice recorder of the Metrojet plane was badly damaged in the crash but they managed to extract information from the flight data recorder
Speaking after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency committee Cobra, Mr Cameron said: "The decisions that I'm taking are about putting the safety of British people first.
"What we need to put in place is more security at that airport so it is safe to fly people home...
"There is still an investigation taking pace in Egypt. We need to see the results of that investigation. The reason we have acted before that is because of intelligence and information we had that gave us the concern that it was more likely than not a terrorist bomb."
Mr Cameron is holding talks at Downing Street with Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who arrived in the UK on Wednesday for a visit
No comments:
Post a Comment