US flight advisory for Sinai: Avoid low altitudes

The US has no plans to change or update its flight advisory for Egypt’s Sinai region, which already advises civil aviation to avoid flying at low altitudes over the peninsula because of risks associated with Islamic extremist activity, the White House says.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest is quoted by Reuters as saying at a new briefing: “I’m not aware of any plans to update that specific advisory.”

US carriers do not operate flights to or from Sinai.

The Federal Aviation Administration advisory has been in place since March.

This comes as the UK just announced that it is suspending flights to and from Sinai amid fears the Russian passenger plane that crashed Saturday, killing all 224 people on board, was brought down by a bomb.

“We have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device,” says a statement issued by the office of UK PM David Cameron.

The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for bringing down the plane, but has provided no proof of doing so.

Earlier today, the group published an audio message saying it will reveal evidence of its involvement at the time of its choosing.