Winter traditionally brings with it the urge to seek a week of sun overseas.
But Sharm el Sheikh – the Egyptian resort which, for so long, has been a staple of British escapes to the beach during the cold months – remains in stasis in the wake of the crash of a St Petersburg-bound flight shortly after take off on October 31. The loss of the Metrojet plane caused the deaths of 224 Russian passengers and crew, with Moscow subsequently stating that the incident was caused by an explosive device.
British holidaymakers were evacuated from the Red Sea destination during the first two weeks of November. Since then, Sharm el Sheikh has been all but off limits, with the Foreign Office (FO) continuing to advise against “all but essential travel by air to or from” the popular beach zone.
What does this mean for travellers?
Is it impossible to take a holiday to Sharm el Sheikh at the moment?
Effectively. While much of Egypt is currently deemed unsafe for visitors, the FO does not currently warn against travelling to “the tourist areas along the Nile river (e.g Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings) or the Red Sea resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada.”
However, this is a technicality – as, thanks to the guidelines on the safety of air travel, UK carriers have not flown to Sharm el Sheikh since November 17. You could, in theory, enjoy a holiday at the resort, if only you could reach it.
Will flights be suspended for much longer?
On February 22, easyJet announced the cancellation of all flights to Sharm el-Sheikh from Manchester, Luton and Gatwick for the whole summer season.
If the government relaxes its advice about air travel to Sharm el-Sheikh, it will operate a twice-weekly service from Stansted from May 29 until the end of the summer. The airline has already cancelled all flights up May 27.
British Airways has cancelled all services up until the middle of September.
A spokesperson said: "Following advice from the UK Government about the security situation at Sharm el Sheikh airport we will not be operating any flights to or from the holiday resort up until at least September 15, 2016.
In a nutshell:
The Foreign Office (FCO) says there is a high threat from terrorism, but only advises against travel to certain areas
How many people does the FCO advice affect?
The 900,000 British nationals who visit Egypt every year
Out of bounds areas:
The FCO has advised against all travel to the Governorate of North Sinai
Only travel if absolutely necessary to:
Governorate of South Sinai (excluding Sharm el Sheikh); the area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta regions; all but essential travel by air to or from Sharm el Sheikh airport
The areas currently deemed safe:
The Sharm el Sheikh perimeter barrier, Nile Delta and Marsa Matruh. This includes the tourist areas along the Nile river (including Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings) and the Red Sea Resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada
Package holiday operators First Choice and Thomson – owned by TUI group and which offer charter flights to Sharm el Sheikh as well as hotel breaks – have declared that they will not fly to the resort (or sell any holidays) until May 25.
Thomas Cook has also cancelled all bookings up until May 25.
Monarch had been intending to resume flights earlier, on February 14, but has now suspended services until at least March 24. It is understood to be making an imminent decision about further cancellations, including for the Easter period.
However, the dates will almost certainly be pushed back if the FO warning stays in place - they are paper deadlines which will be ignored if the situation stays unaltered.
Why are flights still suspended?
The cause of the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 is still under investigation – but Russian opinion that the plane was brought down by terrorist action – most probably a bomb – has focused attention on security levels at Sharm el Sheikh’s international airport. The Egyptian government has announced £26 million worth of extra security for tourist resorts, including X-ray machines and sniffer dogs - and said it had hired safety consultants Control Risks to assess all procedures at airports across the country.
But it is unclear when any findings will be announced – and whether they will be sufficient to satisfy the British government that processes at Sharm el Sheikh are diligent enough to protect its citizens.
The FO’s only word on the suspension has been non-committal – a careful statement that “we are liaising with travel companies so that they are able to resume flights and holidays in Sharm el Sheikh as soon as appropriate security arrangements are in place.”
As Egyptian authorities attempted to resurrect their beleagured tourism industry in February, the British Ambassador in Cairo, John Casson, said: "There remains great interest in Egypt and in Britain in the work to restart flights to Sharm El Sheikh. I know how important this is to Egypt's tourist industry and indeed the whole economy. The world can't leave Egypt to deal with these problems alone - to beat terrorism we have to keep Egypt's economy strong."
In January, Hisham Zaazou, Egypt's Tourism Minister, told Telegraph Travel that there were several safety inspector visits planned for January, and hoped the outcome would be "positive", allowing "a recommendation to go to the Minister of Transport and the British government to reconsider the resumption of flights into Sharm."
Can I still book a holiday to Sharm el Sheikh?
Yes – if you are prepared to wait out the current period of uncertainty, and are optimistic that flights will resume in March, May and September. Thomas Cook, Thomson and First Choice, for example, are still selling breaks to the resort beyond their self-imposed red-letter date of May 25. Your reward for such speculation will, perhaps unsurprisingly, be a bargain price and quiet beaches. A seven-night all-inclusive break at the four-star Reef Oasis Beach Resort in Sharm el-Sheikh, flying on June 3, is currently available for £618 a head via Thomas Cook.
I had booked to go to Sharm el Sheikh in February. Can I recover my money?
Yes. EasyJet is offering full refunds on bookings for Sharm el Sheikh before May 27, or a voucher for the value of the original flights for any other easyJet destination.
Thomas Cook is offering full refunds on holidays to Sharm el Sheikh which were supposed to take place before May 25 – or will give a discount of £30 per person if you reinvest your money in one of its packages to an alternative destination.
Thomson and First Choice (TUI group) is taking an almost identical line, offering discounts of £30 a head if you switch to another holiday to depart before October 31. Other operators will follow a similar policy, but check the small print on your booking if you intended to head to Sharm el Sheikh before the latest flight resumption dates.
British Airways customers who hold bookings on any cancelled flights can claim a refund, rebook to an alternative destination or rebook to a later date to Sharm el-Sheikh..
Monarch customers affected by cancelled flights can obtain a refund or credit note, or exchange to another Monarch holiday.
What will happen if I book a break and the flight suspension is extended?
You will be granted the same option to cancel or re-book. In short, a tour operator is obliged to let you cancel a booking or change it without financial penalty if the FO deems a destination to be unsafe. You can find more on your travel rights in an era dogged by terrorism via Telegraph Travel expert Nick Trend’s recent column on the issue here.
Where could I go instead of Sharm el Sheikh?
If you have your heart set on an Egyptian beach, it is still possible to bask on the edge of the Red Sea. Flights are still operating and holidays are still available to the rival resort area of Hurghada, due south-west of Sharm el Sheikh across the Gulf of Suez – which is not currently affected by FO travel restrictions. However, there was a knife attack at the Bella Vista Resort in the town on January 9, which left three people hospitalised, and the Foreign Office is advising British nationals in the resort to exercise caution and follow local security advice.
Alternatively, click on the following links for a selection of suitably sun-soaked destinations for February and March.
• British tourists ready to defy fears for cheap holidays
What about Tunisia? Is it still unsafe to go?
Tunisia had been one of the beneficiaries of the political turmoil which has wracked Egypt since 2010, with plenty of British holidaymakers considering it a viable option for a week of warm weather. That changed on June 26 of last year when 38 tourists – 30 of them British – were murdered by a gunman while sunbathing on the beach at Sousse. For the last six months, the FO has advised against “all but essential travel” to the coTunisia extends state of emergency days after EU chief calls for tourists' returnuntry.
Tunisia extends state of emergency days after EU chief calls for tourists' return
When will that advice be changed?
It’s impossible to say. Unlike Sharm el Sheikh, where the main concern is that the airport may be insufficiently secure – a problem which, in theory, can be fixed – the terror threat in Tunisia is ongoing. The FO says that “the threat from terrorism in Tunisia is high,” and advises against all but essential travel to the country.
Thomson and Thomas Cook have cancelled their entire Tunisia summer holidays programmes up until October 31.
However, as with Sharm el Sheikh, you can, currently, book a break to a destination such as Sousse for dates after this.
Additional reporting and updates by Lizzie Porter
Source from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk
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