A Thomas Cook flight has left Sharm el-Sheikh bound for the UK as airlines continue their efforts to bring holidaymakers home following the Russian plane crash.

The plane left the Egyptian city shortly before 3pm with 220 passengers on board bound for Gatwick Airport, where it will touch down this evening.

It is one of nine flights expected to bring stranded tourists to the UK today.

Monarch has two flights, to Bristol and Manchester, while two Thomson planes will also bring holidaymakers back to Manchester Airport.

A second Thomas Cook flight is also expected to leave for Manchester, while British Airways sent an empty plane to Sharm el-Sheikh this morning to return holidaymakers to Gatwick this evening.

EasyJet also plans to bring another 445 passengers back, with two planes due to fly in to Luton tonight. The company has around 4,000 passengers in Sharm el-Sheikh, of whom 1,000 have been delayed.

Thousands of Britons have been left stranded in the popular holiday destination following the incident, with increasing evidence suggesting it was caused by a bomb.

Around 1,400 people were brought back to the UK yesterday but another 2,600 are still stranded in the Red Sea resort.

Egypt's civil aviation minister, Hossam Kamal, said the volume of luggage being left behind by British passengers has disrupted operations at the airport, and a large number of scheduled flights have been cancelled.

Of 29 services scheduled yesterday, 21 were cancelled by the Egyptian authorities and some planes were forced to divert mid-flight. The number of flights to the UK is being restricted.

The UK Government suspended air links on Wednesday after an Airbus 321 operated by Russian airline Metrojet crashed last Saturday, killing all 224 people on board.

Militants of the Islamic State (IS) terror group in the Sinai Peninsula have claimed that they downed the plane.

Tourists have since been stranded after authorities brought in stringent security measures, with customers barred from taking any hold luggage with them on any of the flights. It will be brought back to the UK separately by cargo plane after being screened.

Evidence is mounting to suggest the Russian plane was brought down by a bomb. French television channel France 2 reported that the black boxes from the plane "distinctly show the sound of an explosion during the flight".

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said information obtained by UK officials indicated there was a "high probability" that the aircraft was brought down by an explosive device, though he said he was still waiting for final confirmation.

There have been reports that security agencies received intelligence based on intercepted communications between Sinai militants which pointed towards a bomb on the plane.

They apparently suspect an explosive device could have been placed inside or on top of luggage by someone with access to the hold just before take-off.

The UK's ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, has met with the director of Sharm el-Sheikh airport to discuss the new security measures and ensure that all is being done to help British tourists get home quickly.

He told the BBC: "About 1,500 people got home yesterday. People are checking in for their flights at the airport now, there will be similar numbers today and we have got good co-operation now which will allow us to get people home as soon as possible.

"Let us remember what this has always been about is making sure that when people go home they go home safely."

Mr Casson said he understood the frustrations of stranded holidaymakers and reassured them that British Government officials were at the airport and in hotels in the resort to offer people advice around the clock.

He added: "We have measures in place now which allow us to say it is safe to fly home. That is the most important thing, it is the utmost priority for the Government, and we will do it in a way that is as convenient and as quick as possible for people."