SCOTS holidaymakers stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh will begin flying back tomorrow under tightened security, which includes a ban on airlines carrying hold luggage.
Thomson said it plans to depart Sharm el-Sheikh en route for Glasgow Airport at 5.50pm local time on Friday, with a scheduled arrival time in Scotland of 10.15pm.
A spokeswoman for Thomson Airways said the flights will “operate under special security measures mandated by the UK Government”.
She added: “Customers will not be able to bring any hold luggage with them on these flights. Only hand luggage can be brought on board and normal Thomson cabin baggage restrictions apply.
“All hold luggage will be returned to customers under separate secure cover arranged by the UK Government.”
It comes amid revelations that the UK Government first raised concerns about security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport with the Egyptian authorities 10 months ago.
Downing Street said a number of issues were dealt with at the time but when UK aviation experts arrived at the airport earlier this week they found “further measures” were required.
Passengers had been due to return to Glasgow tonight but had their travel plans thrown into chaos after the UK called a halt to all flights to and from the Red Sea resort on Wednesday amid fears that extremists linked to Islamic State had blown up a Russian passenger plane using a bomb planted at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.
Prime Minister David Cameron said it is “more likely than not” that the jet was brought down by a terrorist bomb, although conflicting reports suggest an engine explosion may have been the cause.
All 224 people on board were killed when the aircraft broke up in mid-air over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula on Saturday, 23 minutes into a flight to St Petersburg.
At a press conference at Number 10, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said he was happy with the security changes, adding that Cairo was “completely ready to co-operate”.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there were “several hundred” Scots currently stuck in the Egyptian resort.
Thomson is also due to operate flights from Sharm el-Sheikh to Edinburgh Airport on Friday, with a second flight to Glasgow Airport scheduled for Sunday, but it is unclear whether these will go ahead. Customers due to fly out to the resort have been offered a refund or swap.
Erin Linton, from Dundee, is among those who have spent an extra day in Sharm el-Sheikh after her flight to Glasgow was cancelled.
She said: “No one seems to be that worried or concerned. We are in the safest place we can be. I’d much rather be on the ground than stuck at the airport.”
Wayne and Leslie Barbour, a couple from Aberdeenshire, are also due back on today’s delayed flight. Their son Ryan, 25, said they seemed relaxed about the situation.
He said: “It’s just a case of nobody knowing what’s happening yet and we’ll see how it pans out.”
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