CAIRO — Lufthansa has resumed flying to Cairo following a one-day suspension due to safety concerns.

The German airline’s website shows LH582 took off from Frankfurt after a two-hour delay and arrived in Egypt’s capital Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday, British Airways announced the suspension of its flights to and from Cairo for seven days.

British Airways attributed its cancellations to what it called its constant review of security arrangements at all airports, calling them “a precaution to allow for further assessment.” Lufthansa said it was suspending its flights as a precaution, mentioning “safety” but not “security” as its concern.

The U.S. warned citizens Friday about traveling to Egypt saying terrorist groups including ISIS committed multiple deadly attacks.

British authorities also warned against traveling to parts of Egypt due to terrorist attacks.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> British Airways (BA) and Lufthansa have abruptly suspended flights to Cairo over security concerns, without giving further details.

 

 BA began its seven-day suspension of its flights to Cairo on Saturday, in a move intended as a precaution to "allow for further assessment." German airline Lufthansa also canceled flights to Cairo from Munich and Frankfurt on Saturday, but said it was "evaluating the situation."

"There is a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation," Britain's Foreign Office said in a travel advisory to British nationals heading to Egypt. In a travel advisory to British nationals heading to Egypt.

The Foreign Office said flights departing Egypt for the UK were also undergoing "additional security measures," and urged passengers to "cooperate fully with security officials at airports."

Read more: As tourists become terror targets, travelers rethink plans

A spokeswoman for BA said the airline could not immediately offer more information. But officials at Cairo's international airport were quoted by The Associated Press as saying that the suspension came after a British security check at the airport earlier this week.

Egyptian officials quoted on the condition of anonymity said other airlines were operating as usual.

Lufthansa later said it expected to resume flights on Sunday.

"As safety is always a top priority for Lufthansa, the airline has today provisionally suspended its flights to Cairo while an evaluation of the situation takes place," stated the airline, without giving further details.

Tourism is a key source of foreign revenue for Egypt. The sector has been recovering in the wake of the nation's 2011 uprising and the 2015 jihadi bombing of a Russian jet carrying holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Every day, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. Sign up for the newsletter here. </s> British Airways has announced it has suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precautionary measure following a security review.

And German carrier Lufthansa is also temporarily stopping services to the city for at least 24 hours.

British Airways said it would not operate its aircraft unless it felt it was safe to do so.

"We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment," British Airways said in a statement.

"The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so."

German carrier Lufthansa said it was suspending flights to Cairo from Munich and Frankfurt without giving any reason.

A Lufthansa spokesman said normal service should return in a day. The British flag carrier said it would not operate its aircraft unless it felt it was safe to do so.

Egypt's civil aviation ministry said it was "co-ordinating" with the British embassy in Cairo and the local BA representative and starting an extra EgyptAir flight to London every day to carry stranded passengers.

Some affected passengers posted pictures on social media appearing to show a letter handed out by BA with a similar message.

A spokeswoman for the airline said it could not immediately offer more information about the suspensions.

In its travel advice for British nationals heading to Egypt, the Foreign Office in London warns: "There's a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation".

"Additional security measures are in place for flights departing from Egypt to the UK. You should co-operate fully with security officials at airports." Britain advises against all but essential travel by air to or from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula.

"Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt. Although most attacks occur in North Sinai, there is a risk of terrorist attacks across the country," Britons are warned.

"Terrorists in Egypt likely maintain the intent and capability to target aviation.

"The greatest threat is on the Sinai Peninsula where Daesh operate with greater freedom, but terrorists are active in mainland Egypt, including Cairo." The Foreign Office warns that it "can't offer advice on the safety of individual airlines".

An estimated 415,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2018. Britain cancelled flights to Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh in 2015 after jihadists bombed a Russian airliner carrying holiday-makers from the Red Sea resort, killing more than 220 people on board. </s> British Airways and Lufthansa suspended flights to Cairo on Saturday over security concerns.

The airlines, two of the biggest in Europe, released separate statements announcing the cancellations with BA saying its flights would be suspended for a week.

BA alerted passengers booked on flights from Heathrow, which it runs once per day, and said: “We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment.

“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so.”

Lufthansa said is planned to resume flights on Sunday.

The airline said in a statement: “As safety is the number one priority of Lufthansa, the airline temporarily suspended its flights to Cairo on July 20 as a precaution.

“Normal operations will resume tomorrow and all flights are scheduled to operate.”

A BA spokeswoman said customers who still wished to travel would be rebooked on flights with alternative airlines or offered a refund.

It is understood British Airways made the Department for Transport aware of its decision ahead of the announcement.

Cairo Airport website’s arrivals page listed flight BA155 from London, due to arrive in Terminal 2 at 11.15pm local time, as cancelled.

The airline runs one flight from Heathrow to Cairo and back again per day.

Current Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice on travel to Egypt warns against “all travel” to certain parts of the country.

But Cairo is part of a safer region, where the FCO only suggests reviewing its advice before visiting.

Current advice warns against “all but essential” travel by air to Sharm el Sheikh.

That advice followed the bombing of a Russian airline which was brought down in 2015 shortly after leaving the Red Sea resort, killing 224 people.

One BA customer, Rasha, who asked to keep her surname private, told PA she was booked on a flight on July 25 but was alerted by text about the suspensions.

The IT worker, who is from Egypt and has lived with her family in Britain for six years, said she was supposed to meet her husband, children and other relatives.

“It’s just terrible,” she said. “It may seem like I’m just missing my flight for a holiday, but I really need to go.”

Reuters reported it was told by three Egyptian airport security sources that British staff were checking security at the airport on Wednesday and Thursday.

BA was also among several major carriers to announce in June they would reroute flights to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

The move, also taken by Australia’s Qantas, Dutch carrier KLM, Emirates, Germany’s Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines, followed the downing of a US drone by Iran. </s> studioEAST/Getty Images(LONDON) — British Airways and the German carrier Lufthansa said on Saturday they had suspended all flights to Cairo for seven days as a security “precaution,” but offered no additional details.

“We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment,” British Airways said in a statement.

“As safety is the number one priority of Lufthansa, the airline has temporarily suspended its flights to Cairo today as a precaution, while further assessment is being made,” Lufthansa said in a statement. “We do not have any additional information at this time.”

Ticketed BA customers were caught off guard at Heathrow on Saturday, as they suddenly received notice their flights would not take off.

“Currently about to board a @British_Airways flight to Cairo and it’s cancelled. Not for a day. Not for two days but for seven. Security risk. Someone knows something we don’t,” tweeted

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. </s> British Airways and Lufthansa said Saturday that they were temporarily suspending flights to the Egyptian capital of Cairo over unspecified safety and security concerns.via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/2XVb8Vz </s> British Airways announced it has suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precautionary measure following a security review.

The flag carrier said it would not operate its aircraft unless it felt it was safe to do so.

“We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment,” the airline said in a statement.

“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so.”

Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said it was “co-ordinating” with the British embassy in Cairo and the local BA representative and starting an extra EgyptAir flight to London every day to carry stranded passengers.

Some affected passengers posted pictures on social media appearing to show a letter handed out by BA with a similar message.

A spokeswoman for the airline said it could not immediately offer more information about the suspensions.

In its travel advice for British nationals heading to Egypt, the Foreign Office in London warns: “There’s a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation”.

“Additional security measures are in place for flights departing from Egypt to the UK. You should co-operate fully with security officials at airports.” Britain advises against all but essential travel by air to or from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula.

“Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt. Although most attacks occur in North Sinai, there is a risk of terrorist attacks across the country,” Britons are warned.

“Terrorists in Egypt likely maintain the intent and capability to target aviation.

“The greatest threat is on the Sinai Peninsula where Daesh operate with greater freedom, but terrorists are active in mainland Egypt, including Cairo.” The Foreign Office warns that it “can’t offer advice on the safety of individual airlines”.

An estimated 415,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2018. Britain cancelled flights to Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh in 2015 after jihadists bombed a Russian airliner carrying holiday-makers from the Red Sea resort, killing more than 220 people on board. </s> British Airways may have suspended flights to Cairo because it feared a bombing caused by lax airport security, a terrorism expert said.

The airline has cancelled flights to the Egyptian capital for a week following a security review.

German airline Lufthansa also temporarily suspended flights from the airport, but resumed its service yesterday.

The suspensions, announced on Saturday, come amid growing concerns about activity in the country by remaining cells linked to Islamic State. Jihadists from the group are based in the Sinai peninsula but their activities could be spreading to the capital.

In 2015, IS terrorists bombed a Russian Metrojet airliner after it took off from Sharm El-Sheikh – a Sinai resort popular with British tourists – killing all 224 people on board. It is thought terrorists may have used a sympathetic airport mechanic to smuggle a bomb onboard.

Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute, said yesterday the authorities may fear a copycat attack. ‘The fact that they may have chosen a specific airport suggests that [the threat] is linked to the airport rather than the country,’ he said.

‘A security gap at an airport is more likely to be human than technical. They may have noticed that it’s possible to sneak stuff past security, that bag checks aren’t as good as they are supposed to be or one of the companies supplying security guards wasn’t as thorough as they would want.

‘It’s worth remembering when we’re talking about Egypt that we had the attacks [over Sinai] when IS bombed a Russian flight. This is a part of the world where targeting aviation has been of clear interest to terrorist groups.’ The Metrojet atrocity prompted the suspension of all UK flights to Sharm, which remains out of bounds to UK aircraft.

Three Egyptian airport security sources told Reuters British staff carried out security checks at Cairo airport on Wednesday and Thursday. Hundreds of families have had their holiday plans thrown into chaos following the cancellations, which coincide with the first week of the school summer break.

BA operates six return flights a week between Heathrow and Cairo, meaning up to 2,400 people have been affected.

The airline said it was offering the chance to travel with alternative carriers like EgyptAir and provided food and hotel vouchers. The fact it has provided rebooking facilities has prompted questions over whether BA is the target although Mr Pantucci does not think this likely.

He said: ‘If BA is being threatened and targeted it would be very strange for them to react in this way, for just a time-sensitive period. If they managed to get their hands on a specific strand of intelligence about the airline, by releasing it like this, they would make it clear to wherever that threat came from that they know about the threat, which would compromise the source of that information.’

Passengers about to board a BA flight from Heathrow to Cairo on Saturday – the first to be cancelled – told of confusion and a lack of information. Christine Shelbourne, 70, from Surrey, told the BBC: ‘My 11-year-old grandson is heartbroken – he’s been looking forward to the trip for months.’

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice, stating: ‘There’s a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation. Additional security measures are in place for flights departing from Egypt to the UK.’

Air France, Emirates and Etihad Airways are continuing their flights to Cairo. Flights from the UK to other Egyptian airports, including services by tour operators to Red Sea coast resorts, have not been affected.

Egypt’s aviation minister Younis Al-Masry yesterday ‘expressed his displeasure at British Airways taking a decision unilaterally without referring to Egyptian authorities’. </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - British Airways suspended flights to Cairo for seven days starting on Saturday to allow for an assessment of security there, the airline said in a statement, giving no details about what had prompted the move.

“We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment,” the statement said.

The airline added that it would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so. When asked for more details about why flights had been suspended and what security arrangements the airline was reviewing, a spokeswoman for the airline responded: “We never discuss matters of security.”

Three Egyptian airport security sources told Reuters that British staff were checking security at Cairo airport on Wednesday and Thursday. They provided no further details.

The British Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel by air to and from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, but has not issued similar warnings against air travel to and from Cairo.

The Egypt State Information Service could not immediately be reached for comment.
German airline Lufthansa resumes flights between Cairo and Frankfurt and Munich, while British Airways flights to Cairo remain cancelled for six more days. The UK Foreign Office warns against "all travel" to certain parts of Egypt, but its standard advice for Cairo is for passengers to check for changes.