Rocket which came 'within 1,000ft' of Thomson flight fired during Egyptian military training exercise, Government says

'We investigated the reported incident at the time and concluded that it was not a targeted attack'

The Thomson plane reportedly evaded the missile in August (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

The rocket which reportedly came "within 1,000ft" of a British aircraft as it approached Sharm el-Sheikh in August was fired by the Egyptian military during a routine training exercise, the Government has said.

The Thomson flight took evasive action after the pilot spotted the missile, The Daily Mail reported.

Their source said: "The first officer was in charge at the time but the pilot was in the cockpit and saw the rocket coming towards the plane.

"He ordered that the flight turn to the left to avoid the rocket, which was about 1,000ft away."

They reportedly went on to say that the staff were offered the chance to stay in Egypt, but chose to head back to the UK on a flight which took off with no internal or external lights.

A Department for Transport spokesperson told The Independent: “We investigated the reported incident at the time and 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.”

The news comes as British holidaymakers remain stranded at Sharm el-Sheikh after flights sent to collect them were diverted.

Yesterday, the Government said a total of 29 flights would fly thousands of British citizens back to the UK over the course of the day, but it later announced only eight flights would go ahead.