Lufthansa resumes flights to Cairo
July 21, 2019
Lufthansa resumed daily direct flights to Cairo on Sunday following a brief suspension of services a day earlier. The airline mentioned "safety" as its chief concern, without giving further details.
Flight LH582 departed Frankfurt at 12:34 p.m. CEST (1034 UTC) — two hours later than scheduled. It landed safely at Cairo International Airport. A second Lufthansa flight was scheduled to depart from Munich around 9 p.m. Sunday evening.
British Airways (BA) flights to Cairo remained suspended as part of what the carrier described as its constant review of security arrangements, calling the measure "a precaution to allow for further assessment."
Read more: British Airways, Lufthansa cancel flights to Cairo over security concerns
'Heightened risk of terrorism'
In its latest travel advisory, the British Foreign Office urged Britons against traveling to Egypt, saying: "Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt." It emphasized "a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation."
Flights departing Egypt for the UK were also undergoing "additional security measures." The Foreign Office urged passengers to "cooperate fully with security officials at airports."
Air France, Etihad Airways and Emirates have refrained from suspending flights. "We are closely assessing the situation and are in contact with the relevant aviation authorities with regards to our flight operations to Egypt," said an Emirates spokesperson.
Read more: Trains vs. planes: What's the real cost of travel?
On alert
Aviation authorities and airliners have been on high alert concerning the security of flights, especially those traveling to and from Egypt since 2015.
That year, 224 people were killed when an explosion brought down Russian passenger flight 9268 in what Moscow dubbed a terrorist attack. The "Islamic State" militant group's Sinai wing claimed responsibility for the attack.
Read more: Egypt's state of security in focus after plane hijacking
ls, kw/jlw (AFP, dpa, Reuters)