Terrorist warning issued to Brits holidaying in Egypt

British tourists holidaying in popular Egyptian resort are 'at serious risk of ISIS air missile attack'

BAM45T

by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

As one of the most popular destinations for winter sun, around 900,000 UK holidaymakers visit Egypt every year - and Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the most popular resorts in the country.

But now, in a chilling warning, one of the UK’s top security experts has revealed that terrorists operating in the area have access to missiles which can bring down a commercial airplane.

Speaking with the Express.co.uk, UK defence analyst Justin Bronk explained that the terrain around Sharm el-Sheikh airport is well-suited to a low-grade, shoulder-mounted rocket launcher that could bring down a commercial aircraft.

He said: "Against airliners, they [surface-to-air missiles] are a huge problem, but that would be on take off or landing near an airport.

"Sharm is a fairly open place in terms of the terrain, there are lots of mountains nearby which are fairly rugged. It is pretty rugged terrain."

His warning comes after a Russian passenger plane crashed in the Sinai peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.

While ISIS have claimed responsibility for the crash, however, Egypt's prime minister said a technical fault was the most likely cause.

It is for this reason that government officials have yet to officially change travel advice to Egypt.

Speaking at a late night crisis talk last night, Prime Minister David Cameron said security officials are "looking very carefully" at whether there was any ongoing safety risk posed by the incident.

He added: "If anything changes, we don't sit around and chew our pens and not act. If anything changes it will be announced very quickly.

"But as I say we must do it on the basis of evidence and not on speculation."

EasyJet and Monarch airlines have said that they will continue flights to Sharm el-Sheikh as normal.

However British Airways have refused to confirm or deny whether they will continue with their current schedule, insisting that they can not comment on "exact flight routes".

Do you think the UK should change travel advice for those holidaying in Egypt?

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