British PM urged to resume flights between UK and Sharm

British Prime Minister Theresa May has been urged to resume flights between the UK and the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt by the head of a cross-party parliamentary group on Egypt.

Sir Gerald Howarth, who chairs the group, has said people living in Sharm are at risk of being “radicalised” if Egypt’s tourism industry continues to suffer.

Flights between the UK and the popular holiday destination were cancelled indefinitely after a homemade bomb downed a Russian plane and killed all 224 people on board late last year.

Sir Gerald visited Egypt to inspect security checks at the airport and reported that significant progress had been made.

Sky News Arabia reported today that during May’s meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi at the United Nations General Assembly the two leaders agreed to work together to resume flights to Sharm.

Along with reports of serious human rights violations, fears of terrorist attacks have encouraged tourists to steer clear of the country, which is costing the Egyptian economy millions of dollars each month.

May has backed Egypt’s efforts to obtain a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help boost its ailing economy.