Egypt is a major tourist destination and Sharm el-Sheikh a big draw, especially for the UK. The number of tourists runs into thousands but following a terror attack in November 2015, Britain imposed a ban on Travel to the country. The attack involved the bombing of a Russian airliner by the Islamic State soon after the flight took off from the airport. There were 224 people on board and none survived. The ban was hurting the economy of Egypt because it depends on revenue from tourism. Therefore, in view of improved surveillance methods, UK has lifted the ban.
Airlines can now plan tours to the travel hotspot. While lifting the ban, the relevant authorities have said – it is a result of "improvements in security procedures" and close co-operation between experts of the UK and Egypt.
Sky News reports about one of the UK's biggest travel company that plans to resume flights to the beach resort. It has announced that it would re-start air services in February 2020 to the travel destination which is a favorite of winter sun-seekers. Incidentally, many smaller airlines are trying to edge into the market and catch the early bird by offering chartered flights from next month.
Tui resumes flights to Sharm el Sheikh after four-year ban https://t.co/aWb9lUCCHk
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 1, 2019
It is a popular destination
One of the airlines prides itself on offering its customers an outstanding choice of holidays across the globe.
Sharm el-Sheik in Egypt falls in this category and the airline wants to reintroduce it in its winter 2019 and summer 2020 programs. It plans to start selling holidays to the resort on November 7 with first flights in February 2020 to throw open its doors and welcome back the customers. Incidentally, at least one airline had to wind up because of the travel ban.
#easyjet launches Egypt holidays for first time to favourites Hurghada & Sharm el Sheikh https://t.co/TApqzBZK2r pic.twitter.com/jqJEiRPHdM
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) November 5, 2019
Sky News mentions about the effects of the four-year ban in relations between London and Cairo. Tourism is a major source of revenue for Egypt and the lack of tourists in beach resorts was not good for its economy.
Some other countries had also banned flights after the 2015 terror incident but the one by the UK was the longest.
Airlines offer Sharm el-Sheikh holiday packages
According to Mirror UK, a number of airlines and tour operators are planning holiday packages and flights to the favorite tourist destination. This is because of the lifting of the four-year-long travel restriction imposed by the UK after the bombing of a Russian airliner in which all 224 people died. It seems nearly 415,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2018, and there was no problem. That was a positive sign. Hence, the authorities have lifted the ban. However, they have warned that travelers must exercise caution because terrorists could still carry out attacks. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has issued necessary guidelines in this respect in view of possible terror threats.