“Rescue flights” to fly stranded British tourists out of Sharm el Sheikh

LONDON, England – More than a dozen flights will leave Sharm el-Sheikh tomorrow to bring home stranded British holidaymakers after the UK government grounded all services to and from the Egyptian resort.

Monarch said it had three “rescue flights” planned for tomorrow, while easyJet confirmed that 10 will depart the Red Sea holiday town.

Thomson could not provide details on plans to bring holidaymakers home, citing “a temporary suspension on flights leaving Sharm el Sheikh for the UK.”

EasyJet’s services will include six extra flights on top of its scheduled departures, but customers may be traveling with limitations, as a memo sent to passengers, stated that checked luggage would not be accepted “due to the circumstances”.

Reports have also emerged of UK holidaymakers becoming violent with hotel staff after they were faced with bills for additional nights’ accommodation.

Holidaymakers have been left marooned after the UK government ordered the suspension of all flights to and from the resort, pending an investigation into security levels at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

The Foreign Office last night changed its travel advice for the Red Sea resort, advising Britons against all but essential air travel to Sharm el Sheikh airport.

The advisory effectively means the resort – which was gearing up for winter sun holiday season – is now out of bounds, as it is the only part of the Sinai peninsula considered safe for travelers. Ferry travel to the region is not possible.

All Monarch, British Airways and easyJet flights out of Sharm el-Sheikh have been canceled on Thursday November 5, meaning holidaymakers have had to stay on in the resort longer than expected.

While those on package holidays can expect extra costs to be met by their operator, those who booked flights and accommodation separately may have to cover additional costs themselves. EasyJet said it would cover hotel costs for all customers.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) estimates more than 9,000 Britons will be affected by the Government’s decision to suspend flights.

Monarch is putting on three “rescue flights” on Friday November 6 into Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester airports to bring customers home. These services are intended to run in addition to the two scheduled flights into Gatwick and Manchester.

It advised flight-only customers due to return home today (Thursday November 5) to go to the airport where they would be helped by ground staff, while package holiday customers would be contacted by resort teams about new arrangements.

Thomson said it was making arrangements to return customers in the resort home, and that those who are delayed remain in their hotels. “Customers are advised to keep an eye on the noticeboards in the hotels or on our website for the latest information”, a statement said.

It could not give further information about when it might be able to bring holidaymakers back to the UK, citing limitations on flights leaving Sharm el-Sheikh for Britain.

EasyJet is operating a total of 10 flights to British and Italian airports – nine to London and one to Milan – on Friday, but appear not to be permitting customers to bring checked baggage. In a customer email the company wrote:

“Unfortunately due to the circumstances no checked baggage will be taken onto the flight, this will follow on to your destination airport at a later date. Hand luggage is still permitted under usual regulations.”

An official spokesperson would not confirm the policy.

Tensions also appear to have run high at some hotels at Sharm el-Sheikh. Associated Press reported that one British holidaymaker witnessed another individual physically attacking a staff member at Aqua Blu Hotel, 12 miles from Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

Emma Smyth, travelling as a party of nine, said that some in the resort were unfairly taking out their frustration on staff.

“One English family, who are obviously upset and concerned, have asked the hotel if they can stay on. The hotel have set a charge and the tourists can not understand why they are being charged.

“They said they should be allowed to stay and with that one man grabbed one of the managers – they ripped his shirt, ripped his name badge off and everything.”

Mrs Smyth, 41, who is staying in a party of nine at the hotel, was due to fly back on Friday morning but claimed she had not had any communication from easyJet about their scheduled flight.

“We are not concerned about our safety. Security in the airport felt absolutely normal and it did not worry me at all,” she said. “I am more worried that this is going to cause an impact on the staff at the resort. The staff at the resort are stuck in the middle because they are not getting any messages to advise us of what we should be doing and we have not been contacted by easyJet to say what we should be doing.”

Regarding flights from the UK to Sharm el Sheikh, Monarch, Thomson and easyJet have canceled all services up to and including Thursday November 12.

Monarch said both flight-only and package holiday customers who were due to travel to Egypt today (Thursday November 5) or Friday November 6 should not go to the airport but should contact Monarch customer services to request a full refund, or change their trip to an alternative date or destination. It advised customers who booked through a travel agent to contact them directly.

A British Embassy in Cairo “rapid deployment team” has been posted to Sharm el Sheikh airport to help travelers.

Thomson is offering a full refund or exchange for any holiday currently on sale to customers due to travel before November 12. It is also offering a £30 discount per person to those who take a new holiday before the end of April next year.

easyJet is offering all customers booked to fly to Sharm el-Sheikh in the next two weeks a refund, or the chance to change their flights to an alternative date or destination free of charge.

British Airways said that its flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to London today (Thursday) and its flight from Gatwick to the Red Sea resort would both now leave on Friday (November 6).

A spokesperson said that it would provide hotel accommodation and refreshments to customers in Sharm El Sheikh who were due to fly to Gatwick today.

The national carrier said that customers not wishing to travel on the postponed flights on Friday “will be able to claim a full refund or switch to an alternate destination.”

Lufthansa has also said it has cancelled two planned weekly flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh from non-UK airports, operated by subsidiaries Edelweiss and Eurowings.

The cancelation of flights has come at an unfortunate time for Egypt.

Its tourism industry has been severely affected by political unrest since the unseating of former leaders Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi, as well as threats posed by terrorist groups, including some with Isil affiliations.

Nadejda Popova, senior travel analyst at Euromonitor International, said that Egypt had begun to invest in a widespread campaign to lure back tourists, and the decision [to cancel flights] “is going to have a very serious impact on the local economy and of course on tourism as the only pockets of safety in the country in terms of tourism are now compromised.

“Travelers will remain very hesitant to travel to this part of the Middle East and will continue to choose destinations like Dubai, Oman, and maybe even Morocco as opposed to more vulnerable destinations like Tunisia and Egypt.”

Dr Wynne-Hughes, a researcher in Western tourism practices in Cairo and the role of foreigners in Egypt since the 2011 revolution, told AP news agency that the disruption to the Egyptian tourism industry would have a “huge impact” on the lives of Egyptian people: “For the day-to-day Egyptians – that’s working selling camel rides at the pyramids or selling horse rides along the beach in Sinai – that’s going to mean a huge impact on their livelihood.”