Russian plane crash: Hotel staff questioned in Egypt

Within days of the crash, USA and British government sources were suggesting that intercepted communications chatter indicated that the plane had been brought down by a bomb.

The possibility that Islamic State operatives were able to infiltrate Sharm al-Sheikh Airport and plant a bomb aboard a commercial aircraft has heightened worries among USA officials about the danger posed by the group’s Sinai branch.

Police are checking the backgrounds of those who work in the hotels where crash victims stayed.

Egypt and Russian Federation have yet to formally announce the cause of the disaster.

United States air carriers for years have avoided flying into or out of Sharm al-Sheikh airport because of longstanding worries about security at the facility, U.S. officials said.

An urgent request for more CCTV cameras at the airport has been made by local police, as well as a 24-hour monitoring room.

Russian Federation will need two more weeks to bring the remaining tourists back home, he told Medvedev at the meeting. KLM spokeswoman Gedi Schrijver said three security guards will be in Cairo along with sniffer dogs to check baggage.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev admitted Monday the possibility that a terrorist act was the cause of the destruction over the Sinai, Egypt, of the Russian passenger aircraft.

Islamic State extremists have claimed they brought down the Metrojet flight, without offering proof, and said it was in retaliation for Moscow’s airstrikes that began at the end of September against militants in Syria.

Around 70 percent of all tourists in Egypt are Russian and British.

Since Friday, about 25,000 Russian citizens have been returned from Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and Cairo via special flights, with their luggage flown in separately, said Arkady Dvorkovich, a deputy premier. Dozens of airliners have been bringing Russian tourists back home, carrying only cabin baggage, while Russian cargo planes are hauling back the rest of their luggage.

Airbus Chief Operating Officer for Customers John Leahy told reporters on Monday that he is “very confident in the A321’s safety record and the safety of the design”.

All 224 passengers and crew were killed when the plane crashed in the desert on the way to St. Petersburg, Russia.