UK lifts restrictions on Sharm el-Sheikh flights

David Casey October 22, 2019

Direct flights from the UK to Sharm el-Sheikh are to resume after the UK government lifted its long-standing restrictions on air travel to the Red Sea resort.

The UK government said improvements in security procedures at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, and close co-operation between the UK and Egypt on aviation security, mean commercial carriers will now be allowed to operate routes to and from the airport.

“We look forward to services to Sharm El-Sheikh resuming, and lifting the restriction is the first step in that process,” said Grant Shapps, the UK’s secretary of state for transport.

“The safety and security of British nationals remains our top priority and this decision follows close co-operation between our aviation security experts and their Egyptian counterparts, and improvements in security procedures at the airport.

“We will now work closely with airlines who wish to resume flights to and from the airport.”

Commercial flights to the Egyptian resort were halted in November 2015 shortly after Metrojet flight 9268 that had departed from Sharm el-Sheikh was brought down. The bomb on board the flight on 31 October 2015 killed 224 people.

According to OAG Schedules Analyser, five carriers offered service between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh during the summer 2015 season: British Airways, easyJet, Monarch Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways.

During the summer 2015 season, London Gatwick had a 31.1 percent capacity share of available departure seats from the UK to Sharm el-Sheikh, followed by Manchester with a 22.9 percent share and Birmingham with 11.9 percent.

In 2017, Monarch blamed its collapse on “outside influences”, which included the restrictions on flying to Sharm el-Sheikh. The airline’s capacity to Egypt dropped from more than 400,000 available seats in 2015 to almost zero.

Despite the travel restriction, Sharm el-Sheikh has remained a popular holiday destinations with British tourists. An estimated 415,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2018.

Egyptian authorities have welcomed the UK’s decision to lift restrictions, paving the way for direct air routes.

A statement from the country’s tourism ministry said: “This step is a testament to the continuous efforts exerted by the Egyptian government to ensure the safety and security of every visitor in all of Egypt's destinations, and in South Sinai in particular.”