Egypt says Britain has not yet lifted travel ban to Sharm el-Sheikh

Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said on Tuesday that Britain has not yet lifted a travel ban to Sharm el-Sheikh.

“We expect the return of British journeys to Egypt, but the British government has not yet lifted its decision to warn against travelling to Egypt. Despite this, several British airlines have promised to resume flights to Egypt, particularly to Sharm el-Sheikh,” Fathy said.

Fathy made the comments during the signing of a cooperation agreement on Tuesday between Egypt’s National Falcon Company for Airport Security and Great Britain’s Restrata to train new security staff of the former on screening passengers and baggage.

The signing ceremony was attended by British Ambassador in Cairo John Casson, Chairperson of the Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation Ismail Abul Ezz and high officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the British Embassy in Cairo.

Casson said: “We are trying to secure tourists and passengers inside the Egyptian airports through joint cooperation, services and consultancy that we offer to the Egyptian government and the companies.”

The agreement included a security consultancy contract, through which Restrata’s experts would implement training methods, evaluate training levels, assess trainees, issue security risk reports, give recommendations, review and evaluate inspection procedures.

The two entities also signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint security training centre in Egypt to provide training for all aspects of airport security.