Russian plane crash: Airlines evacuating customers from Sharm el Sheikh postpone return to resort

Airlines and holiday companies currently evacuating their customers from Sharm el Sheikh have postponed any return to the Egyptian resort.

Acting in unison, the three airlines and two tour operators have cancelled all departures up to and including 25 November.

British Airways, easyJet, Monarch, Thomas Cook and Thomson intend to resume flights on 26 November - but only if the Foreign Office lifts its current advice to avoid air travel to and from Sharm el Sheikh.

BA is taking bookings for travel from Gatwick to Sharm el Sheikh from 26 November, with fares at only £180 return. That is 40 per cent less than BA flights to Cairo on the same dates, even though the Egyptian capital is 250 miles closer to London.

Anyone with a booking up to 25 November will not be travelling, and is entitled to a full refund, or can choose to switch to an alternative destination - though they will have to pay extra for any difference in price.

Monarch is also offering passengers credit towards future travel with a 10 per cent bonus. A spokesperson said: “We recognise this is a very frustrating situation and apologise for the inconvenience this is causing our customers.”

Thomson and Thomas Cook are voluntarily offering anyone booked to travel to Sharm el Sheikh up to and including 10 December to switch without penalty to another holiday in the winter season, up to the end of April, on payment of any difference in price.

Around 250,000 British travellers are believed to have forward bookings to Egypt, with many having paid in full for Christmas and New Year trips. At present they are expected to assume the trips will go ahead as planned, with normal conditions for cancellation. A spokesperson for easyJet said: “Any decision will be made in due course.”

Holidaymakers currently in Sharm el Sheikh are being brought home in planes with sealed holds, with their luggage being transported separately. This is one of the precautions demanded by Britain before flights were allowed to depart from the Egyptian airport. The UK government is assuming the Russian jet lost with 224 on board on 31 October was downed by a bomb planted at the airport.