Two Major Airlines Suspend Flights To Egypt
Lufthansa and British Airways are suspending flights to Cairo for reasons related to safety and security. The British carrier said it was canceling flights to the Egyptian capital for a week, amid what it calls a “heightened risk of terrorism against aviation.”
According to CNN,
“Additional security measures are in place for flights departing from Egypt to the UK.”
Lufthansa, a German airline, said normal operations would resume Sunday. Both carriers delivered two-sentence statements via email. British Airways attributed its cancellations to what it called its constant review of security arrangements at all airports, calling them “a precaution to allow for further assessment.”
The German airline said it was suspending its flights simply as a precaution, mentioning “safety” but not “security” as its concern. Company spokespeople refused to elaborate on what motivated the suspensions.
These sanctions come as Britain weighs its response to Iran’s seizure Friday of a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and rising tensions stemming from US sanctions’ effect on Iran’s economy and oil exports.
The Strait of Hormuz and Cairo are separated by 1,500 miles and CNN notes that a 2015 Russian Metrojet flight exploded over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, after a bomb was placed aboard. Lufthansa spokesman Tal Muscal said the company has two flights a day to Cairo, one each from Frankfurt and Munich.