Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry criticised on Monday German carrier Lufthansa and Air France-KLM’s decisions to avoid flying over the Sinai Peninsula while they wait for clarity on what caused a Russian airliner carrying 224 passengers and crew to crash in the area on Saturday.

Shoukry said in an interview to Algerian TV that the decision by the two European airline companies, as well as others, is “irresponsible” and leads to assumptions that there were “other” reasons, besides technical faults, behind the plane crash.

Lufthansa has less than 10 flights a day crossing over the area.

Spokespersons from both airlines said on Sunday that the decision is a precautionary measure until it is clear what caused the crash.

Director of flights at Kogalymavia charter airline, the company that owns the plane, told a press conference in Moscow that the “only explanation for the crash is some kind of external action.”

However, Russian officials insist that it is too early to speculate on the cause of the crash.



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