British Airways resumes flights to Cairo after week’s halt
Airline does not offer details on possible threat that prompted cancellations
British Airways said Friday that it is resuming flights to Cairo after security concerns prompted a week-long halt to services.
The airline said that flight BA 155 is scheduled to leave Friday at 5:20 p.m. (1620 GMT). The flight resumption followed “a thorough assessment of the security arrangements,” it said.
British Airways said the “safety and security of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so.”
German-based carrier Lufthansa had also temporarily halted service to Cairo, but resumed flights on Sunday.
British Airways said Saturday it had suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precautionary measure following a security review.
“We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment,” British Airways said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for the airline did not offer more information about the suspensions.
In its travel advice for British nationals heading to Egypt, the Foreign Office in London warns: “There’s a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation.”
“Additional security measures are in place for flights departing from Egypt to the UK. You should co-operate fully with security officials at airports.”
Britain advises against all but essential travel by air to or from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai peninsula.
“Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt. Although most attacks occur in North Sinai, there is a risk of terrorist attacks across the country,” Britons are warned.
Britain canceled flights to Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh in 2015 after jihadists bombed a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort, killing more than 220 people on board.
An estimated 415,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2018.
