Face of Nation : British Airways suspended flights to Cairo for seven days starting on Saturday to allow for an assessment of security there, the airline said in a statement, giving no details about what had prompted the move.
“We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment,” the statement said.
The airline added that it would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so. When asked for more details about why flights had been suspended and what security arrangements the airline was reviewing, a spokesperson for the airline responded: “We never discuss matters of security.”
Three Egyptian airport security sources told Reuters that British staff were checking security at Cairo airport on Wednesday and Thursday. They provided no further details. The British Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel by air to and from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, but has not issued similar warnings against air travel to and from Cairo.
The move comes as Britain weighs its response to Iran’s seizure Friday of a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and rising tensions stemming from U.S. sanctions’ effect on Iran’s economy and oil exports. The strait and the Egyptian capital are separated by 2,500 kilometres and Egypt has long had a contentious relationship with Iran.
