Sunday, February 6, 2011

Egypt Crisis - FCO Chartered Flight Gears to Take Off

British Government’s special charter flight arranged by Foreign Office gets ready to take off from the Cairo airport with 180 passengers as Egypt crisis gets murkier and bloodier. Keeping the grim situation in mind, the Foreign Office (FCO) announced that a new flight is also being arranged for British tourists to fly them out later in the week.

FCO spokesperson was quoted by news portals as stating, "The plane will depart from Cairo on Saturday, and will supplement existing commercial services. We will provide further such flights as necessary."

The announcement came after a mob of pro-government supporters attacked protestors in Tahrir Square. FCO also advised British travellers to leave Cairo as soon as possible.

"The situation in Cairo remains unpredictable, and the FCO advises all British nationals to leave the city unless they have a pressing reason to stay," FCO spokesperson was quoted by online resources.

"A large team remains on the ground, including significant specialist reinforcements sent in the course of the last week from London and other British Embassies in the region.

"Staff who are not immediately involved in responding to the crisis or helping British nationals are being temporarily removed in line with our travel advice," spokesperson further added.

The first flight that is slated to depart today from the crisis-stricken country was sent by Foreign Office on Wednesday to ensure that there is enough capacity to allow Britons to leave Egypt without many hassles.

Passengers will be charged £300 per air ticket on the charter, which is more or less the same price as a seat with a commercial airline would cost.

FCO defended its policy of not rolling out cheap tickets on the flight as it does not want to undercut commercial airlines by offering a cheap flight.


Cheap Holiday Deals amidst Egypt Protests

There is also a section of people who plan to take benefit of the current turmoil in Egypt by grabbing some great holiday deals for Sharm El Sheikh. The normal operations at the Sharm El Sheikh International Airport have boosted the holiday makers’ confidence in the claims that the Red Sea’s resort coastline is calm and peaceful.

Reports suggest that Red Sea resorts like Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada have not been affected by the turbulence seen in Egypt’s main cities.

However, countries like Australia and the United States have advised its citizens against visiting any part of Egypt in the current conditions.

On the other hand British travel firms are rolling out attractive and cheap holiday packages to entice tourists into buying air tickets to such Red Sea resorts. Some travel operators are even offering as much as 50% discount on holiday packages.

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