Monarch, Thomson extend stop on Sharm el-Sheikh flights

Thomson Airways and Monarch on Monday said they were delaying the resumption of regular flights to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh until mid-December and after the new year respectively.

"Monarch can confirm that it has now cancelled all flights from the UK to Sharm El Sheikh up to and including Wednesday 6 January 2016," the company said in a statement.

Thomson said it was suspending flights until December 16 -- a week later than the previous deadline.

The two companies said they were extending the suspension of flights as the Foreign Office still had a travel advice warning against air travel to the resort in place.

Easyjet and British Airways last week had already delayed flights until January 6 and 14 respectively.

Tour operator Thomas Cook has so far cancelled flights until December 10 only.

British airlines suspended flights after the crash of a Russian airliner near Sharm el-Sheikh on October 31 in which all 224 people on board died.

Investigators have concluded it was downed by a bomb and the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.

Turbulence in Egypt since the ousting of president Hosni Mubarak in a 2011 revolt and the crash have had a devastating effect on the tourism sector.

Russia has suspended all flights to Egypt.
Source: AFP