Pressure on Egypt will not defeat Egyptians’ desire to succeed, said President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Wednesday in a press statement after landing in Sharm el-Sheikh Airport.
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EasyJet passengers continue to face delays of up to three days with the airline now scheduling nine flights to operate out of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday – four to Gatwick, three to Luton, one to Manchester and one to Milan.
Tourists were stuck in Egypt until Friday when outbound flights resumed, although strict security has delayed the speed at which they have been able to return.
“The lights will not be going out in Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada while we are here”, Sisi told reporters.
Muqaddam said his team, comprising experts from Egypt, Russia, France, Germany and Ireland, has yet to be presented with conclusive evidence suggesting the Airbus A321, which crashed 23 minutes after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh worldwide Airport, was downed by a bomb.
Shortly after Britain’s decision, Russian Federation followed suit as President Vladimir Putin agreed to a recommendation from the Federal Security Service to suspend all flights to Egypt.
EasyJet said on its website that all delayed passengers would be home by the end of next weekend while Monarch said the last Sharm flight would depart next Tuesday. The crash is Russia’s biggest airline tragedy: All 224 people on board were killed, the majority of whom were Russian.
Confirmation that militants brought down the airliner could have a devastating impact on Egypt’s lucrative tourist industry, which was hit hard last week when Russian Federation, Turkey and several European countries suspended flights to Sharm al-Sheikh and other destinations.
Cyprus is as well seen as an alternative choice to Egypt, with increasing interest from traveling tourists since the crash in Sinai, as Cyprus Minister of Tourism Giorgos Lakkotrypis told the parliament. A lot of them were Russian nationals. “We are answering a few questions and trying to be helpful”, he said.
Egypt’s economy relies heavily on tourism, and in 2014 the sector accounted for a little over 10 percent GDP.
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Commenting on media reports that Moscow was also mulling suspension of flights to other destinations in the Middle East, Ivanov said that Russian intelligence agencies have made no such advice, but added that Moscow was monitoring the general security situation and airport security in other countries in the region.
