British Airways halted flights to Cairo after spooks picked up on a ‘specific threat’
BRITISH Airways axed Cairo flights after spooks picked up on a “specific threat”, it has emerged.
Thousands face travel misery with BA’s Egypt flights grounded for a week.
An aviation source said: “There was chatter picked up that suggested a specific threat to a BA jet and so to ensure safety the flights were cancelled.”
In a letter to passengers the airline said: “We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days to allow for further assessment.”
Germany’s Lufthansa also axed two of its flights to Cairo on Saturday but they started again yesterday with departures from Frankfurt and Munich.
BA booked travellers on to other airlines including EgyptAir.
PASSENGER SAFETY
Egyptian media reported that BA security teams visited Cairo airport last week.
One tourism chief said: “We take passenger safety very seriously and maintain the strictest standards.”
Passenger Duncan Harte, from Portsmouth said his flight to the UK was cancelled but BA “rebooked me on an EgyptAir flight an hour later”.
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BA’s website is selling tickets to Cairo from next Monday.
A spokesman said: “We would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so.”
The Foreign Office website warns of “a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation” in Egypt.
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