Passengers ready to board a British Airways flight to Cairo were told the service was cancelled following a security alert.
The flight, BA155 was due to depart Heathrow at 5.15pm to Cairo. Passengers had checked in and passed through security in preparation for boarding when the service was cancelled.
The airline said in a statement that they are suspending flights to the Egyptian capital for seven days.
Flight BA154 from Cairo to Heathrow landed in London today at 12.28, 18 minutes behind schedule without incident.
However, the return journey to the Egyptian capital was called off. An Air Canada flight, which is a code share with Egypt Air is due to depart for Cairo at 10:10pm.
One angry passenger tweeted: ‘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.’
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has warned that flights to Egypt face ‘a heightened risk of terrorism’.
British Airways 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.’
The airline has offered food and hotel vouchers for stranded passengers.
Some affected passengers used social media to share pictures which appeared to show a letter handed out by British Airways with a similar message about security.
A spokeswoman for the airline said it could not immediately offer more information about the suspensions.
The airline normally offers one return service between Heathrow and Cairo a day – apart from Wednesday.
Despite the decision by British Airways, Air France’s AF570 service from Paris took off on time.
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.
Passengers in the queue were handed this letter which advised them of their rights
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.
According to the Foreign Office: ‘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.’
The Egypt State Information Service could not immediately be reached for comment.
A Government spokesperson said: ‘We are aware that British Airways is notifying passengers that it has decided to suspend flights to Cairo temporarily.’
An estimated 415,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2018.
The airline 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.
Passengers due to fly to Cairo are advised to call BA on 0844 493 0787.
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