Sharm el-Sheikh tourists ‘should all be back by end of week’

Egyptian police are reportedly exploring a new theory that hotel staff may have planted the bomb possibly used to down a Russian passenger plane in tourists’ luggage.

Maids, porters and other hotel staff are being questioned and having their backgrounds checked for any extremist links, The Telegraph reported.

Britain and the United States, as well as global investigators, suspect a bomb exploded on board the Metrojet A-321 plane, but Egyptian officials insist there is no evidence yet of an attack on the aircraft which jihadists claim to have downed.

Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada and other Red Sea resort towns have traditionally been popular tourist destinations for Russians. Hours after the plane crash, the ISIS had claimed responsibility for the crash and claimed that they had brought down the plane.

Shortly after the incident, an IS statement said it was responsible for the crash and that the operation was retaliation for Russian airstrikes against the group in Syria.

“We think maybe the tourism will collapse”, said Russian tourist Vera Dvaregova in Sharm el-Sheikh.

US and British officials have cited intelligence reports indicating that the plane, en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, was brought down by a bomb on board. Egyptian state and private channels, allowed to film inside the airport, highlighted security checks and luggage scanning at the main queue for worldwide departures.

Israel’s defense minister says there is a “high probability” that the Russian airliner that recently crashed in Egypt was brought down by a bomb.

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. The checks are expected to include security and baggage handling, both of which have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the Russian airline disaster over a week ago. Tunisian authorities, who have been criticized for not doing enough to secure tourist sites, say the country remains a target for terrorist attacks.

“While we can not discuss the full details of our aviation security measures, or the enhancements noted today, I want to assure the travelling public that the Department of Homeland Security is working closely with our domestic and global partners to evaluate the cause of the crash of Flight 9268, and will continue to take appropriate precautionary security measures”.

“IS operatives planning an attack would be wise to them (the devices) and would know instantly that they offer no protection at checkpoints”, he said.

Investigators of the Russian plane crash in Egypt are “90 percent sure” the noise heard in the final second of a cockpit recording was an explosion caused by a bomb, a member of the investigation team told Reuters on Sunday. A few 20,000 British tourists were left stranded by the decision, with a few being told they would have to wait up to 10 days to be returned home.

On 6 November, the Russian president agreed on security recommendations to suspend air service with Egypt until the causes of the A321 plane crash are identified.