To say it is chaotic at the Sharm El-Sheikh airport is an understatement as Egyptian authorities said that only eight of the 29 rescue flights that were planned for today will be taking off. Empty planes are being diverted as passengers that can only take their hand luggage with them are struggling to get home. As stranded passengers observe flight after flight being canceled the frustration is mounting.
Sharm El-Sheikh is a tourist destination for many in Europe but inbound flights have all been canceled from Great Britain and now very few are being sent to pick up the thousands of British Tourists. According to Reuters, about 20,000 are believed to be in the area.
Russia has also just announced that until the results have come in regarding the cause of Metrojet Airbus A321 to break up and crash in Sinai all flights in to the region are suspended. Putin has declared that this action is only prudent for Russian’s safety. He has also asked that all Russian tourists leave the area.
There are currently 45,000 Russian tourists in Sharm el-Sheikh, one of the most popular destinations for holidaymakers, according to Oleg Safonov, the head of Russia’s state tourism agency quoted by the TASS news agency.
The numbers of Russian tourists currently in the Red Sea resort bring home how devastating Putin’s decision will be for the Egyptian economy. Up to a third of all visitors are Russian.
Some uninvestigated tweets that are coming by tourists stranded at the airport have spoken about how easy it has been to get around security at the airport citing that $35 would get you out of having your luggage searched.
