Rocket that came within 1,000ft of Thomson flight was ‘probably a flare’, investigators find

A spokesperson for Egypt's foreign affairs ministry said the claims in the Daily Mail were "preposterous".

The near-miss incident involving the Thomson airliner happened on August 23 (Getty)

A missile that came within 1,000ft of a British plane carrying 189 tourists en route to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh was “probably a flare”, investigators have found.

The near-miss involving a Thompson airliner happened on 23 August, two months before a Russian plane crashed in Egypt, killing all 224 people on board. Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, has said there is a “significant possibility” that Isis is responsible.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said its investigation into the near-miss incident concluded it was not a “targeted attack”, while Thomson said there was “no cause for concern” for further flights.

However, the reports have angered Egyptian officials - with e foreign affairs spokesman strongly refuting claims made in the Daily Mail.

According to The Mail, the pilot took evasive action and landed safely, but holidaymakers were not told about the incident. The newspaper quoted a source as saying: “The pilot was in the cockpit and saw the rocket coming towards the plane. He ordered the flight turn to the left to avoid the rocket, which was about 1,000ft away

“Another Thomson plane was also flying into [Sharm el-Sheikh] at the same time and saw the rocket. The crew were told the rocket was from an Egyptian military exercise, but with what has happened there is a lot of fear. The incident left staff petrified.”

However, the official spokesperson for Egypt’s foreign affairs ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, branded the claims "preposterous".

In a series of tweets, he said: “Preposterous allegations by @MailOnline regarding UK plane ‘avoiding Egyptian missile’ in August are completely inaccurate… incident involved ground-to-ground fire exercise in military base few km off Sharm airport, no ground-to-air firing involved whatsoever.

“Egypt and UK govs fully aware that plane was in no danger. Airliners previously informed of military exercise and instructed of procedures.”

Tui Group, which owns Thomson, said the DfT investigation “concluded that it was not a targeted attack and was likely to be connected to routine exercises being conducted by the Egyptian military in the area at the time”.

A Tui spokesman added: “Their view also at the time was that it was probably a flare. As a result there was no cause for concern. It was safe for Thomson Airways to continue its flying programme to Sharm el-Sheikh.”

Additional reporting by PA.