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Only 2 British flights leave Egypt amid anger of stranded tourists

Xinhua, November 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Two British airplanes carrying some 360 British tourists left the Egyptian red sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh on Friday.

Ealier reports said that eight flights, out of 29, were planned to depart from Sharm el-Sheikh for Britain on Friday.

The British government is evacuating its nationals in Sharm al-Sheikh after reports that the Russian plane that crashed last week in Sinai may have been brought down by an explosive device.

Meanwhile, some 20,000 British nationals stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh City are anxious to fly back home.

Egypt's civil aviation minister denied reports that authorities canceled flights bringing British tourists back home from Sharm Al-Sheikh, adding that the process is restricted by the airport's capacity.

"The airport can't accommodate the planned 29 British flights on the same day due to the extra security measures," he said.

Britain's ambassador to Cairo John Casson also denied that the Egyptian authorities have blocked any flights.

Casson said it will take time to ensure that everything is prepared and to make sure that people can leave in a way that is safe and well organized.

Casson's comments angered some British tourists who have to wait in the airport, urging him to work swiftly to fly them home.

"I wonder why we still wait here. The government asked us to pack our luggage and get prepared to leave. We are supposed to fly today, but we are stuck at the airport and still I have no idea what is going to happen," a British middle-aged man who preferred his name not to be mentioned told Xinhua.

On Thursday, Britain suspended all flights from and to Egypt after the recent Russian plane crash that killed all 224 people on board.

Early on Thursday, several U.S. media reports cited unnamed sources as suggesting that a planted bomb might have caused the Russian plane crash in Egypt's Sinai last week.

Later that day, the British Prime Minister's office said that Britain will resume flights from the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh on Friday after agreeing on additional security measures with Cairo. Endit