The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said in a statement that “the safety of the aircraft was not put a risk” and described the incident as “separate from the current and ongoing security situation in Sharm el-Sheikh”.
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“When you couple that with the satellite technology, this flash of heat on the airplane, the fact that ISIS has declared war on Russia, this was a Russian plane headed for Russia, in addition to the USA and United Kingdom intelligence that we have received, I think all indicators are pointing to the fact that this was ISIS putting a bomb on an airplane”.
Britain and several airlines have stopped normally scheduled flights to the resort, while Russian Federation has suspended all flights to Egypt because of security concerns.
The head of Egypt’s investigation team said Saturday that the noise was inconclusive and may have been caused by lithium batteries in the luggage of a passenger or an explosion in the fuel tank.
In charge of the main crash investigation are Egyptian officials, but they told the press that no conclusion has been established yet.
Ivanov said Egypt needs to revise its security regime not only in Sharm el-Sheikh, but also at other airports.
Extremist “chatter” intercepted by intelligence agencies indicated that a bomb was planted on board and the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have said a terrorist attack is the most likely cause of the disaster.
STR/EPA Debris from crashed Russian jet lies on the sand at the site of the crash in Sinai, Egypt on October 31.
British tourists waiting to get out of Sharm el-Sheikh could experience a delay of “two or three days”, he added.
A remembrance service was held in St Petersburg for the crash’s 224 victims, most of whom were Russian.
The travel chaos has grown after French aviation officials have told media the Russian plane crash in Egypt last week was not due to technical failures.
On Saturday, security officials said Egypt is checking video footage at Sharm al-Sheikh airport for any suspicious activity linked to the crash, the clearest sign yet that Cairo suspects it could have been targeted by militants.
According to the Association of Tourism Operators of Russia (ATOR), their members alone could lose 3.6 billion roubles ($56 million) by the start of the new year as they have sold more than 70,000 holiday packages to Egypt at an average price of $800, Russian national daily Vedomosti reports.
The Islamic State-affiliated Sinai Province, which claimed it brought the plane down, said it acted in revenge for Russian air strikes against Islamist fighters in Syria, where Islamic State controls large areas in the east and north of the country.
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As hundreds of Britons remain stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh, there are fears that the security technology used at hotels in the area is sub-standard and in a few cases could even be fake.
