Hundreds of Britons were left stranded at the Cairo airport last night (Sunday) as airport operations slumped down with the staff joining the bandwagon against the Egypt’s president. British tourists, heeding the advice of Foreign Office to leave the troubled nation, got a rude shock as they found out that different flights have been cancelled. Around 30,000 Britons are reported to be stranded in Egypt with most of them still at Red Sea resorts.
Holiday makers who ventured out of their hotels to travel to the airport were greeted with scenes of utter chaos and confusion as long meandering queues were found at the airport. The night-time curfew imposed by the authorities added to the woes of the travellers as they were unable to leave the airport and forced to sleep in the departure lounges. With the reports of the Cairo International Airport running out of water and food, the proceedings only got worse for the holiday makers.
The British Government had advised against all non-essential travel to Luxor, Cairo, Alexandria and Suez after the violent protest against Egypt’s president broke out on last Tuesday. UK authorities grounded all UK to Egypt flights and in the process wrecking plans of those who landed up with cheap flights to the popular holiday destinations.
There were also reports of some airlines trying to take advantage of the helplessness of the tourists by increasing costs of air tickets on flights back to the UK. British Airways was among those airlines which were being accused of profiteering by the travellers.
However BA on their part accused third party vendors for inflating tickets costs and maintain there has been no change in their pricing policy. BA’s spokesman stated as quoted by online resources, "Tickets are selling at a normal price, we have made no changes to our fares policy."
BA’s spokesman also added, "We are trying to operate normally, but we have had to amend plane times to comply with the curfew.
"For this reason people should watch our website to get the latest information, especially as the situation is pretty volatile."
UK’s budget airline BMI known for its cheap flights plans to have its flights rolling on Monday. However, they struck a cautious note by stating that flights were subject to delay and cancellations.
Questions were also asked about the Foreign Office's response to the crisis as nations like United States, Turkey and India recently announced that they will have special flights to get their citizens out of the country.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted that he is monitoring the situation and considers the wellbeing of the British citizens as his top most priority. He also announced the
government’s decision of sending extra consular staff to the Cairo International Airport.
Holiday makers who ventured out of their hotels to travel to the airport were greeted with scenes of utter chaos and confusion as long meandering queues were found at the airport. The night-time curfew imposed by the authorities added to the woes of the travellers as they were unable to leave the airport and forced to sleep in the departure lounges. With the reports of the Cairo International Airport running out of water and food, the proceedings only got worse for the holiday makers.
The British Government had advised against all non-essential travel to Luxor, Cairo, Alexandria and Suez after the violent protest against Egypt’s president broke out on last Tuesday. UK authorities grounded all UK to Egypt flights and in the process wrecking plans of those who landed up with cheap flights to the popular holiday destinations.
There were also reports of some airlines trying to take advantage of the helplessness of the tourists by increasing costs of air tickets on flights back to the UK. British Airways was among those airlines which were being accused of profiteering by the travellers.
However BA on their part accused third party vendors for inflating tickets costs and maintain there has been no change in their pricing policy. BA’s spokesman stated as quoted by online resources, "Tickets are selling at a normal price, we have made no changes to our fares policy."
BA’s spokesman also added, "We are trying to operate normally, but we have had to amend plane times to comply with the curfew.
"For this reason people should watch our website to get the latest information, especially as the situation is pretty volatile."
UK’s budget airline BMI known for its cheap flights plans to have its flights rolling on Monday. However, they struck a cautious note by stating that flights were subject to delay and cancellations.
Questions were also asked about the Foreign Office's response to the crisis as nations like United States, Turkey and India recently announced that they will have special flights to get their citizens out of the country.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted that he is monitoring the situation and considers the wellbeing of the British citizens as his top most priority. He also announced the
government’s decision of sending extra consular staff to the Cairo International Airport. 
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