November 13, 2015•Update: November 13, 2015
LONDON
Russia’s aviation authority has banned all flights to the country by Egypt’s state-owned airline EgyptAir, cutting off air links between the two countries.
Officials had already banned domestic airlines from flying to anywhere in Egypt over concerns a bomb may have downed the Russian airliner that crashed shortly after taking off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh two weeks ago.
The ban on flights by EgyptAir, the Egyptian flag carrier, takes effect from Saturday, Nov. 14.
Friday’s announcement by officials at Moscow Domodedovo Airport to Russian news agencies came on the same day the U.K. government announced no tourist repatriation flights from Sharm would operate after Tuesday, Nov. 17.
The U.K. government suspended all British flights to and from the resort in response to security concerns following the Metrojet Airlines crash on Oct. 31. Dozens of rescue flights were organised to airlift the hundreds of stranded British tourists.
In an announcement publishing its latest travel advice for British nationals, the U.K. said that the last repatriation flights would operate Tuesday.
The advice continued: "If you choose to remain in Sharm el Sheikh after Tuesday Nov. 17, you’ll need to make your own arrangements for returning to the U.K. This may involve having to travel with an airline to which extra security measures eg separate baggage flights, don’t apply.
"You should make your own decisions about the risk based on the information in our travel advice."
Russian and British tourists visited Egypt in greater numbers than any other nationality in 2014, according to the country’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, raising fears of a long-term decline in an important industry for the Egyptian economy as regular travellers stay away.
Most U.K. airlines have cancelled their scheduled flights to Sharm el-Sheikh for the remainder of August, although flights to other Egyptian destinations continue to operate.
Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary, said last week that flights to Sharm would not resume until it believes flying to Egyptian resort’s airport is safe.
