UK lifts ban on Sharm el Sheikh flights after four years

Direct flights to the Egyptian resort town from the UK can resume after four-year safety ban is lifted

Sharm el Sheikh is a hugely popular holiday choice with British travellers and the UK has lifted restrictions on direct flights in October 2019. 

UK airlines will be allowed to fly direct to Sharm el Sheikh again, four years after flights were first banned.

The UK government has announced that the ban on flights to the holiday resort on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula no longer stands.

The restriction was put in place in 2015 after the bombing of a Russian aircraft shortly after it took off from Sharm el Sheikh International Airport. All passengers and crew on the flight died and Egyptian officials admitted the airport did not meet international security standards.

Since then, Egyptian authorities and British security teams have worked together to enable flights between the countries to resume.

Improved security procedures at Sharm el Sheikh International Airport are the driving factors for the lifting of the ban which is seen as the first step in resuming direct flights between the two destinations.

Travellers set to visit Sharm el Sheikh are advised to check with their airline or tour operator for information on flight services.

It’s good news for Egypt’s tourism industry as Sharm el Sheikh was a hugely popular package holiday destination with UK tourists before the ban was imposed.

The good news for Egypt comes on the same day that Cairo was listed in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2020 as one of the top 10 cities to visit in 2020.

Giza’s soon to open Grand Egyptian Museum and the country’s new Sphinx Airport were listed as two of the primary reasons that the Egyptian capital made the cut.