Second airline suspends flights to Cairo over ‘security concerns’

British Airways and Lufthansa cancel trips to Egyptian capital

Lufthansa cancelled flights from Frankfurt and Munich to Cairo (CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

German airline Lufthansa has followed British Airways in suspending flights to Cairo, citing security concerns.

A Lufthansa spokesperson told The Independent two flights from Frankfurt and Munich to the Egyptian capital had been cancelled on Saturday.

He said the airline’s service to and from the city would resume on Sunday.

BA announced on Saturday evening that all flights to Cairo had been halted for seven days to allow for an assessment of security there.

A spokesperson for the airline declined to provide further information about the suspensions, saying the company did not comment on security matters.

“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,” a BA statement said.

“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so.”

Three Egyptian airport security sources told the Reuters news agency that British staff were checking security at Cairo airport on Wednesday and Thursday.

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.

“An estimated 415,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2018,” according to the website’s advice page, which was last updated after the news on Saturday. “Most visits are trouble free.

“Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt. Although most attacks occur in North Sinai, there is a risk of terrorist attacks across the country.”