Tourists que inside the airport in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on November 5, 2015. (AFP)
British and Belgian airlines will repatriate tourists currently in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh but only with hand luggage, after suspension of flights earlier amid fears that the Russian passenger jet crash last Saturday was caused by a bomb attack.
Britain and Ireland earlier temporarily suspended flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh after a Russian plane crashed 23 minutes after taking off from the resort last Saturday, killing all 224 people on board.
British airlines, easyJet and Monarch said they were planning a total of 15 flights on Friday to repatriate some of the 20,000 British tourists currently in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after British government decision to suspend flights to the resort.
On top of its two scheduled flights from the resort on Friday, easyJet said it was planning eight more.
"The government has decided, in consultation with the airlines, that flights from Sharm to the UK will resume tomorrow," a spokeswoman for UK Prime Minister David Cameron said.
"The additional security measures will include permitting passengers to carry hand baggage only and transporting hold luggage separately."
Meanwhile, Belgian airline Jetair said Thursday it will send three planes to Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh to repatriate tourists, but without their luggage.
After halting a flight that was due to leave Brussels for Sharm el-Sheikh earlier Thursday, Jetair said that three flights due to leave on Friday, Saturday and Sunday would depart, without outbound passengers.
"An exceptional security measure will apply to these three return flights: no check-in bags will be accepted. Passengers can take a cabin bag which will be subject to extra checks," Jetair said.
The Lufthansa Group said Thursday it would halt flights by its subsidiary Eurowings between Germany and Sharm el-Sheikh, citing "the current situation on the Sinai peninsula".
It also said it would cooperate with the German foreign ministry and tour operators to repatriate holiday-makers from the Egyptian Red Sea resort.
However the Swiss airline Edelweiss, also a subsidiary of the German group, said it would maintain its weekly flight to the Egyptian resort, clarifying Lufthansa's earlier statement that it had also temporarily scrapped services.
Several Countries has recently advised its citizens against travelling to the resort.
Most recently, Belgium advised its citizens on Thursday against travelling to Sharm el-Sheikh amid concerns over airport security at the Egyptian resort.
"We advise Belgians not to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh. We advise against it temporarily while we wait for guarantees on the security of the airport," Foreign Minister Didier Reynders told RTBF television.
France earlier Thursday advised its citizens against non-essential travelling to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday said it was likely that a "terrorist bomb" had brought down a Russian flight that had just departed Sharm el-Sheikh last Saturday, killing all 224 people on board.
The British government decided on Wednesday to halt its flights for Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh city on Wednesday, pending further assessment of safety procedures at Sharm's airport.
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