British Airways, Lufthansa cancel flights to Cairo over security concerns
British Airways (BA) and Lufthansa have abruptly suspended flights to Cairo over security concerns, without giving further details.
BA began its seven-day suspension of its flights to Cairo on Saturday, in a move intended as a precaution to “allow for further assessment.” German airline Lufthansa also canceled flights to Cairo from Munich and Frankfurt on Saturday, but said it was “evaluating the situation.”
“There is a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation,” Britain’s Foreign Office said in a travel advisory to British nationals heading to Egypt. In a travel advisory to British nationals heading to Egypt.
The Foreign Office said flights departing Egypt for the UK were also undergoing “additional security measures,” and urged passengers to “cooperate fully with security officials at airports.”
Read more: As tourists become terror targets, travelers rethink plans
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Egypt’s deadliest terror attacks
1997 Luxor massacre
Sixty-two tourists were killed at Egypt’s Deir el-Bahri archaeological site in Luxor. Six assailants, thought to have been linked to al-Qaida, disguised themselves as members of the security forces and descended on the temple armed with automatic machine guns and knives. Egyptian tourist police and military forces eventually stopped the attackers, who were either killed or committed suicide.
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Egypt’s deadliest terror attacks
2004 Sinai bombings
A series of bomb attacks targeting tourists in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula killed 34 people and injured 171. Most of the casualties were killed after a truck drove into the lobby of the Taba Hilton. Two more bombs went off at campsites some 50 kilometers away, killing a handful of people. Roughly half the casualties were foreigners, including 12 Israelis.
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Egypt’s deadliest terror attacks
2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks
The attack in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh was carried out on Egypt’s Revolution Day and for a decade remained the worst Islamist attack in Egypt’s history. A series of bombs planted close to bars and restaurants, as well as by a hotel, killed 88 people and injured 150. The majority of victims were locals, although a number of tourists also died, including 11 British nationals.
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Egypt’s deadliest terror attacks
2006 Dahab bombings
The attack on the the Egyptian resort city of Dahab marked the third consecutive year that tourist resorts had been targeted. A series of blasts in a restaurant, a café and a market killed at least 23 people, most of whom were local, and wounded around 80. Egyptian officials maintain that the attacks were carried out by the Islamist cell known as Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, a forerunner of “IS.”
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Egypt’s deadliest terror attacks
2015 Metrojet Flight 9268 disaster
All 224 mostly Russian passengers were killed when Metrojet Flight 9268 suddenly dropped out of the sky over the Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, shortly after having taken off from Sharm el-Sheikh international airport. Authorities agree that it appeared a bomb had been snuck on board. The so-called “Islamic State” jihadi group claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Egypt’s deadliest terror attacks
2016 Attacks on Egypt’s Coptic Christian minorities
While Egypt’s Coptic Christians have for decades been targeted by Islamists, deadly attacks on Coptic churches have increased dramatically in recent months. At least 102 Egyptian Christians have been killed in four separate attacks since December 2016.
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Egypt’s deadliest terror attacks
2017 Coptic church and Al-Rawda mosque bombings
On April 9, 2017, the Coptic church faith followers encountered devastating twin blasts in Tanta and Alexandria as they celebrated Palm Sunday, killing 28 and 17 people respectively. On November 24, 2017, a bomb went off outside of Al-Rawda mosque in the city of Al-Arish in the northern Sinai Peninsula, which claimed the lives of more than 300 people and injured 109 others.
Security checks in Cairo
A spokeswoman for BA said the airline could not immediately offer more information. But officials at Cairo’s international airport were quoted by The Associated Press as saying that the suspension came after a British security check at the airport earlier this week.
Egyptian officials quoted on the condition of anonymity said other airlines were operating as usual.
Lufthansa later said it expected to resume flights on Sunday.
“As safety is always a top priority for Lufthansa, the airline has today provisionally suspended its flights to Cairo while an evaluation of the situation takes place,” stated the airline, without giving further details.
Tourism is a key source of foreign revenue for Egypt. The sector has been recovering in the wake of the nation’s 2011 uprising and the 2015 jihadi bombing of a Russian jet carrying holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
ipj/cmk (AFP, AP)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/british-airways-lufthansa-cancel-flights-to-cairo-over-security-concerns/a-49675132?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf