Russia, Britain evacuate stranded tourists from Egypt

Some 49 Russian and 10 British planes have been used to evacuate tourists from the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation said yesterday.

Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported a statement by the ministry saying: “Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport is expected to receive 60 international and domestic flights, including 22 Russian flights and 10 British flights to evacuate Russian and British tourists.”

Several countries have warned their citizens against travel to a number of Egyptian cities, leading to sharp decline in tourism after the cancellation of thousands of bookings.

Director of bookings at a Russian tourism company in Egypt, Adel Hosni, told Anadolu: “Nearly 20,000 Russian tourists have cancelled their bookings with this company.”

On Friday, Britain started to evacuate stranded holidaymakers after announcing the suspension of flights to and from Sharm El-Sheikh.

A number of countries believe a terror attack caused a Russian Airbus to crash last week, killing all 217 passengers and crew on board.