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Thomson, Cook and BA extend Sharm el-Sheikh cancellations

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Thomson, Thomas Cook and British Airways have extended the cancellation of flights to Sharm el-Sheikh by another week.

This means that flight and holiday programmes will not operate until at least January 14.

BA said it had cancelled services to from the resort until it receives “further reassurance” about the security situation at the Egyptian Red Sea resort airport.

However, Monarch and easyJet flights to Sharm el-Sheikh remain suspended until January 6.

Monarch chief executive, Andrew Swaffield, told Travel Weekly that his organisation was in almost daily contact with the Department for Transport and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and “the signs are positive” that the airport would re-open in early January.

He said he remained hopeful that flights could resume by January 7, adding that operators were making decisions on flight suspensions based on differing operational procedures.

“Clearly it is important to re-open in time for the peak booking period in January,” said Swaffield, saying that this would boost consumer confidence in booking the resort.

Closing down resorts should not become the normal response to acts of terror, he stressed.

“It is generally very bad for a resort to be closed. It is not something we should be getting used to,” said Swaffield. “We should not be handing a victory to the terrorists.”

He described Sharm el-Shiekh as a significant part of the group’s network, accounting for 10% of annual revenue and 6% of seats.

People with Thomson and Thomas Cook bookings to the resort up to March 23 are being told they can amend their reservations without incurring a fee to alternative destinations for departures until the end of April.

Thomson said: “As a result of Foreign and Commonwealth advice, Thomson Airways can confirm the cancellation of further outbound flights from the UK to Sharm el-Sheikh, up to and including Thursday, January 14, 2016.”

BA said: “As a result of government advice not to carry any further customers to Sharm el-Sheikh, all flights to Sharm el-Sheikh up to and including Thursday, January 14, will be cancelled.

“We are keeping flights in the later part of January and beyond under review and will update the website with more information about these services in due course.”

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