Egyptian president makes surprise visit to Sharm el-Sheikh

Columnist Hani Assal said hostility to Egypt was a feature of British journalism from the Nasser era in the 1950s through to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to London last week.

Egyptian President Sisi landed in Sharm to discuss the repercussions of the crashed Russian passenger jet. “We are answering a few questions and trying to be helpful”, he said.

An insurgency in Sinai had bedeviled the country since Islamist President Mohamed Morsi’s overthrow, which unleashed a crackdown that killed hundreds of his supporters. Britain and Ireland have suspended flights to Sharm el-Sheikh.

The travel restrictions will have a devastating affect on tourism, one of the country’s key revenue earners.

EasyJet said on its website that all delayed passengers would be home by the end of the weekend while Monarch said the last flight from Sharm el-Sheikh would depart next Tuesday.

“I came here to send a message to investors in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada”, he said, confirming that the region is still safe for investments.

Describing the scene at the airport, Mrs Parmar said: “In the first couple of days – Friday and Saturday – things were very chaotic”.

CAIRO-Egyptian media have reacted with fury as Britain and the United States increasingly point to a bomb as the cause of the October 31 Russian plane crash in Sinai, with many outlets hammering home the same message: Egypt is facing a Western conspiracy that seeks to scare off tourists and destroy the country’s economy.

The restrictions have dealt a severe blow to Egypt’s tourism industry, a main revenue earner, and have been denounced by the Egyptian government which has said the cause of the incident has yet to be determined.

“The matter appears as if it were a conspiracy against Egypt for objectives unrelated to the incident”, he added.

It did not say why Russia was able to operate more flights, but there are estimated to be four times more Russians than Britons stranded in the Red Sea resort.

A worker at Sharm el-Sheikh airport told The Telegraph that staff felt under suspicion as police hunt for a potential Isil infiltrator, and said that they would hand over any information they had.

Despite Syrian restless neighbor, Turkey also is considered to be one of the beneficiaries of the crisis, as the country was the favorite foreign destination for Russians in 2014, when more than three million visitors choose it as a holiday destination.