British Airways, Lufthansa suspend flights to Egypt over “risk of terrorism”

Two of Europe’s air giants, British Airways and German Lufthansa, have suspended flights to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, following a security alert by the UK Foreign Office warning citizens that: “There is a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation,” TW gathered.

This prompted the airlines to cancel flights to Cairo, calling it a safety precaution.

While British Airways canceled all flights in and out of Cairo for the next 7 days, handing out flyers to frustrated passengers with a busy phone number as a relief, Lufthansa German Airline did the same but is resuming flights today (Sunday).

British Airways and Lufthansa — two of Europe’s largest airlines — abruptly stopped flights to Cairo on Saturday, even as flights were about to board.

“As safety is the number one priority of Lufthansa, the airline has temporarily suspended its flights to Cairo today as a precaution, while further assessment is being made,” Lufthansa said in a statement. “We do not have any additional information at this time.”

According to insiders, no specific threat was detected but airlines are reacting to ongoing concerns about security problems at the Cairo airport. The suspension of flights will give the airlines the opportunity to review the situation, the sources said.

The British Foreign Office also warned against “all travel to the Governorate of North Sinai, due to continuing criminal activity and terrorist attacks on police and security forces that have resulted in deaths,” the agency said.

Culled from eTN.