Britons in Egypt: Foreign Office planning 'for all eventualities'
As street protests continue the UK government announces it is putting contingency plans in place for its citizens
The government is working on contingency plans to ensure the safety of 20,000 Britons who are on holiday in Egypt, as tensions in the country escalate.
In a statement to the Commons, the Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said the government was planning "for all eventualities" as the widespread street protests continued for a seventh day. But the Foreign Office would not comment on whether evacuation of British citizens was being considered.
Burt said most of the Britons in Egypt were in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where no serious unrest has been reported with around 10,000 others elsewhere in Egypt.
"The situation in Egypt is still very uncertain," said Burt. "The safety of our citizens is our top priority. We are putting in place contingency plans to ensure that we are prepared for all eventualities."
He repeated the department's current travel advice, telling those "without a pressing need" to be in Cairo, Alexandria or Suez to leave by commercial means if it was safe to do so. The Foreign Office has already advised against "all but essential travel" to Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Luxor. Those in Luxor have been told to stay indoors if they can.
British nationals in other areas of Egypt where demonstrations are taking place are advised to avoid public gatherings and disturbances and stay indoors where possible.
Although Cairo airport was open, Burt added, flights were disrupted or delayed and about 30 Britons were expected to spend the night in the terminal before flying tomorrow. He also said staff h! ad been sent to Egypt to reinforce embassy staff.
Downing Street said the government was not currently chartering planes to evacuate Britons, as the US has done.
David Cameron's official spokesman told reporters: "That's not something we are doing at the present time, but we are keeping the situation under review."
A Foreign Office spokeswoman would not confirm whether the "contingency plans" included evacuation.
The US State Department said that it had evacuated more than 220 of its citizens from Egypt, adding that it hoped to bring a further 900 out of the country by the end of today.
Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Portugal and Turkey have also begun evacuating their citizens from Egypt.
The travel association Abta told Britons in Egypt to follow the Foreign Office advice: "The vast majority of British holidaymakers in Egypt are based in resorts in the Red Sea area (for example Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada). This is a very considerable distance from the affected areas and these resorts remain unaffected."
Thomas Cook said it had cancelled its outbound flights to Luxor on Wednesdaytomorrow, but return flights from there to the UK would operate as planned.
Cosmos holidays echoed the Foreign Office advice and said it had yet to decide about flights to Luxor.
Thomson said all its excursions to Cairo had been cancelled, as had outbound flights to Luxor on Wednesday.
All three operators said it was business as usual in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Comments