British "stranded" At Sharm El-Sheikh

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk

Why can't the package holiday airlines take these Brits on a bus to Cairo Airport, and fly them home from there ? There isn't any restrictions for British planes to go to Cairo is there ?

[Retrochic]

I was having a very similar conversation with someone who was planning a trip to Sharm in January - I voiced my concerns and the answer was " oh its probably one of the safest places you can go -its got guards everywhere" Seems the getting to and coming back from it is the real problem.

[jackthehat]

People often book their holidays months in advance......and until the F.O. makes a pronouncement, these folks won't get their money back if they cancel their trips.

[naomi24]

Mikey, retrospect is a wonderful thing.

[Retrochic]

Its the tour companies that have cancelled the holidays. The ones already there that have finished their holidays but are 'stranded' will surely get accommodation free of charge until they can be put on planes?

[-Talbot-]

mikey, why is that no matter where or what the trouble is be it at home or abroad it is always the fault of the British?

[DTCwordfan]

Mikey, I have been from Cairo to Port Said and Port Suez and those are long trips by car and somewhat uncomfortable, not least the heat as there are salt flats to cross. Sharm is some 6 hours to traverse the desert.....and then Cairo to get across to get to the airport at Heliopolos, mindboggling in its own right and that can take a couple of hours on top if you hit the traffic at the wrong time - it makes the London rush hour look very tame.....

[jomifl]

A quick visit to Google Earth reveals that Cairo is 6 hours by road from Sharm on a road that is better than many in the UK.

[naomi24]

The condition of the road isn't the problem.

[Khandro]

jomifl; Are you an armchair traveller?

[mikey4444]

Naomi...retrospect doesn't come into it.

Sharm is located in a highly dangerous part of a unstable country, in a region that is falling apart politically. There were terrorist attacks in Sharm in 2005.

I have done some research on the unrest in the Sinai Peninsula and it appears to be a hotbed of unrest and resentment against the Egyptian government........indeed, you and others today have pointed out what a dangerous overland trip back to Cairo it would be.

So there would appear to be plenty of evidence to make people think again about booking a holiday there....even more so now, with the huge rise in violence and potential danger associated with the emergence on ISIS.

A crystal ball wasn't required in order to think that planning a trip to Sharm wasn't perhaps the best choice. It was a gamble that people took, and now its backfired.

[jno]

probably quicker to take a bus to Eilat; but I don't know that I'd try it.

[mikey4444]

Forgot to add...it could easily have been 224 British people on board that aircraft, bound for Luton instead of St Petersburg.

[naomi24]

//There were terrorist attacks in Sharm in 2005. //

And how many thousands of tourists, not only from the UK, have visited Sharm since that incident ten years ago? You can see why complacency happens.

[DTCwordfan]

On that basis, I wouldn't recommend Jamaica either, guests in Montego live in the patrolled compound, machine-gun patrolled and look at the reputation for violence in Kingston.

[DTCwordfan]

A speed boat to Jeddah down the coast - and don't forget the duty free.....

[mikey4444]

Naomi...I fully accept that complacency sets in but Egypt is a lot more dangerous than it was in 2005, and ISIS hadn't been heard of back then
( I think )

[jomifl]

Khandro, mostly.. Egypt doesn't seem any more dangerous than Kenya, survived a mugging and a bandit ambush there.. on holiday..

[naomi24]

Mikey, it is indeed.

[ummmm]

I was in Egypt when the bombs went off (not in Sharm) would I go back...absolutely not!

[Khandro]

Ah! now I understand! it's THEIR fault for going there, - they should have stayed at home, locked the door and then terrorism would really have won.

jomifl :0) I got robbed at gunpoint in Barcelona!