UK transport ministry says urgently working to ensure planned flights leave

The Telegraph reported that British spies uncovered an ISIS bomb plot after the Halloween crash of a Russian Metrojet over the Sinai – triggering the move to freeze flights.

Multiple worldwide airlines departing Egypt said only carry-on luggage would be permitted as more intelligence officials say they believe it was a bomb that downed Metrojet Flight 9268, killing all 224 people aboard.

President Barack Obama said in a radio interview Thursday that “there is a possibility that there was a bomb on board, and we’re taking that very seriously”.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was in London today – his first visit as president – for talks with Cameron, and said at a joint press conference that the two had a “good mutual understanding” of how to align their responses.

In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron said the crash was “more likely than not” caused by a bomb.

“But it’s certainly possible that there was a bomb on board”.

Egyptian soldiers collect personal belongings of plane crash victims at the crash site of a passenger plane bound for St Petersburg in Russian Federation that crashed in Hassana.

Britain and Ireland have already suspended regular flights to Sharm al-Sheikh amid growing concerns over what caused the plane crash and the level of security at the resort’s airport.

Egypt’s civil aviation ministry denied it was blocking any flights but said the numbers were limited by airport capacity.

Thousands of British passengers could be stranded in Sharm El Sheikh over the weekend after a day of chaos that saw rescue planes performing U-turns in mid-air.

Britain has said that additional security measures would be in place, including only allowing passengers to carry hand baggage, while checked luggage will be transported separately.

He said Egypt had beefed up security at airports to “give confidence to the British government, but that does not mean we concur with any scenario”.

Islamic State (IS) announced it was responsible for bringing down the plane soon after the crash, releasing a propaganda video in which militants were shown shooting down the plane, though Russian and Egyptian authorities claim there is still no evidence that IS was involved.

They apparently suspect an explosive device could have been placed inside or on top of luggage by someone with access to the hold just before take-off.

It has the potential to deeply damage Egypt’s tourism industry, still struggling to recover from a turbulent four years following its 2011 revolution.