Germany Lifts Travel Ban To Sharm

[Crowley]

Good news at last - earlier this week the German government removed the travel ban to Sharm El Sheikh airport, and have advised tour operators to consider restarting flights.

It will take several months before anything happens as flights are scheduled months in advance and all the aircraft are heading to other destinations, but it's good news nonetheless. Hopefully other European nations and eventually Russia will follow suit.

There is still a demand - especially from divers - but they've been put off by logistics and prices more than security concerns so this is a big step forward. Hopefully there will be some pickup before the October High Season. As a former resident instructor of Sharm I hope that people will start reconsidering it as a destination...

I wrote an article for DIVE: GERMANY DROPS SHARM BAN - DIVE Magazine
Which was based on the report from Al Ahram: Germany resumes direct flights to Sharm El-Sheikh: Ministry - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online

Cheers

C.

 

[Neilwood]

I had read this with interest.

I would imagine that with Germany lifting restrictions, which I can only imagine would be due to finding the revised security protocols adequate, other nations will follow suit and lift their own.

I had been told the UK reviews conclusions were due to be made public at the start of this month but we are now mid way and no report has come to light.

Still any move at all must help diving businesses in the region.

 

[scubafanatic]

Hot off the presses tonight!

EgyptAir Jet Disappears Over Mediterranean Sea

An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo is thought to have crashed into the sea with 56 passengers and 10 crew on board.

..perhaps the travel ban lifting was premature ?

 

[Pedro Burrito]

EgyptAir Flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo 'disappears from radar' - BBC News

What scubafanatic is referring to.

 

[diverLux]

Hi,

Germany never had a travel ban for Sharm El Sheikh. The warning is for travel to the North of the Sinai peninsula and the area near the Israel border.
Auswärtiges Amt - Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise - Ägypten: Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise (Teilreisewarnung)
Problem is people are not interested to spend their holidays in Sharm, hence no flights, no flights no holiday makers and no divers, . . .
Flights via Turkey and Cairo have been an option . . .

 

[Crowley]

There may not have been an outright ban on flights to Sharm by the German government but they strongly advised against travel to Sharm - and the "ban" was technically about checked baggage not being allowed on the aircraft. ETI and FTI re-routed their aircraft based on government advice, not just the lack of interest - bearing in mind that the UK and other countries specifically recommended against "all but essential travel" through Sharm airport, even though they still classed the resort as safe.

German tour operators were advised by the government to look at resuming flights but it would be at least 6 months before flights could be resumed on a regular basis - assuming they chose to do so - and now this new tragedy happens. I hope we get the information soon, but I am not confident that there will be any progress this year. :-(

Sad Crowley

 

[Pedro Burrito]

The source is the Daily Mail so a bit of skepticism is in order:

MS804 crash 'has brought Sharm El Sheikh to its knees'

 

[Crowley]

Indeed - however my sources are friends, former colleagues and residents of Sharm El Sheikh.... The resort was already on it's knees, and now it's worse... :-(

C.

 

[Oldbear]

I went to Sharm in 2012 with my BSAC friends out of Kuwait. At that time it didn't seem to be to busy but it was also not dead.

How long did it take Sharm to rebound from the 2005 terrorist attacks?