UK lifts ban on Egypt resort flights, 4 years after bombing

Associated Press

London – The British government says UK airlines can resume flights to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, suspended after an Islamic State bombing that brought down a Russian passenger plane four years ago.

The Department for Transport said on Tuesday that “improvements in security procedures at the airport, and close co-operation between the U.K. and Egypt on aviation security, mean commercial airlines can now be allowed to operate routes to and from the airport.”

In this Nov. 9, 2015 file photo, passengers board an Egyptair Express plane bound for Cairo at Sharm el-Sheikh Airport, south Sinai, Egypt.

The Sinai Peninsula resort had been a major package-holiday destination for British tourists before the November 2015 attack, which killed all 224 people on board and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Travel company Tui welcomed the decision and said it planned to re-introduce trips to Sharm el-Sheikh “taking into account customer demand.”