British and US officials have come to the view in recent days that the crash was probably caused by a terrorist bomb, rather than a mechanical failure. All 224 people on board Flight 9268 lost their lives.
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Mr Hammond’s comments came as it was reported a CCTV camera station at Sharm el-Sheikh airport where security officials were meant to be monitoring baggage handlers to “make sure that staff don’t put in the bags or take things out”, was routinely abandoned.
In addition, the arrest on Sunday of Salah Diab, the owner of the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm who was detained with his son, and also the detention the same day of leading investigative journalist and human rights advocate Hossam Bahgat, also dampened the mood in the market, said Elalfy.
Russian Federation will need two more weeks to bring the remaining tourists back home, he told Medvedev at the meeting.
In Sharm el-Sheikh, Britons said the situation is changing “hourly” with thousands still stuck in the resort.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker says the airline is confident in Egypt’s safety capabilities and will begin flying its normal routes along the Sinai Peninsula once all is cleared from the authorities.
A memorial service has been held in St Petersburg for the 224 victims of the Russian passenger plane that crashed in the Sinai desert last weekend.
Security guards and caterers are also being inspected. The British government and US officials have said intelligence suggests the plane was downed by a bomb, but Egypt says there’s still no confirmation of what caused the crash. The man known as Masri claimed responsibility for the Russian plane crash in an audio statement last Wednesday?- the same day that David Cameron announced the suspension of British holiday flights to Sharm el-Sheikh.
However, Mr Hammond reaffirmed that the view of the British authorities was “more likely than not” that the crash, which killed all 224 passengers and crew on board, was the result of a terrorist bomb planted on the aircraft before it took off from Sharm el-Sheikh on 31 October.
He says Dubai-based Emirates is reviewing its procedures relating to security, ground handling and access to aircraft while they are on the ground in Egypt.
Russia has returned 11,000 of its tourists from Egypt in the last 24 hours, RIA news agency said on Sunday, a fraction of the 80,000 Russians who were stranded by the Kremlin’s decision on Friday to halt all flights to Egypt. It does not fly to Sharm el-Sheikh, the departure airport for the doomed Russian airliner. The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that it has sent two Il-76 cargo planes to Egypt to bring back larger luggage the Russians had to leave behind.
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The group’s frontman, Masri, an Egyptian cleric, brokered a pact with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) previous year in Syria, the report said.
