Sharm el-Sheikh crash: Thomas Cook extends holiday ban to 25 November as it confirms two “rescue flights” today
Thomas Cook has extended its ban on flights and holidays to Sharm el-Sheikh by a fortnight, as the investigation into what brought down Metrojet flight 7K9268 more than a week ago.
The tour provider had originally cancelled all flights in and out of the region up to and including 12 November, following the UK government’s decision to suspend all flights in the wake of the crash.
However this has now been increased to 25 November.
Thomas Cook said it would allow all affected customers the opportunity to either cancel or reschedule their holiday free of charge, and would offer a £25 discount per person on the alternative holiday booked.
It is increasingly believed that the plane was brought down by an explosive device that detonated around 23 minutes into the journey to St Petersburg, killing all 224 people on board. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack on what it called “Russian crusaders” although this has been contested by authorities over a lack of evidence so far.
Thousands of British holidaymakers have been stranded in the popular resort since the middle of last week, with just a handful of “rescue” flights able to repatriate families.
Thomas Cook has confirmed that two flights will be setting off from Sharm el-Sheikh airport this evening – one at 5:25pm bound for Gatwick, and one at 7:30pm, bound for Manchester. It is awaiting confirmation of further flights tomorrow and the rest of the week.
“We would like to reassure our customers and their families that our priority remains their safety and welfare and we are working diligently with the Egyptian government and authorities to bring passengers home as quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement.