By Michael Daventry
LONDON
The pilot’s announcement was another reminder that it was no ordinary flight.
“Ladies and gentleman, you’ll be glad to know that MI5 are on board.”
Confirmation that officers from Britain’s domestic intelligence agency were among their number may have come as a relief to the passengers on easyJet Flight 9854, many of who had been waiting 48 hours for their seat on the plane.
When the passengers streamed into Gatwick Airport’s arrivals hall five hours later, some told a reporter from The Guardian newspaper about the pilot’s announcement.
They also revealed their flight had been escorted part of the way by fighter jets from the Royal Air Force. Others simply burst into tears, relieved to be home.
They had all just returned from Sharm el-Sheikh, the first passengers to land back in the U.K. since the British government announced it was suspending all flights to and from the Egyptian resort.
The days since a Metrojet flight crashed into the Sinai desert on Oct. 31 killing all 224 aboard had been marked by increasing tension over the terror threat facing travelers to the Red Sea destination.
Prime Minister David Cameron said it was "more likely than not" the Russian airliner was brought down by a bomb before the U.K. suspended flights. It was a decision that left thousands of British tourists stranded with no idea of when or how they might leave.
However, there were international differences over the decision, with Russia and Egypt both initially dismissing Britain’s tentative claim.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said at a news briefing that Russia was "surprised" that the U.K.’s decision was announced "not by an expert on this issue" but a government minister. It was "shocking", she said, that the British government had not chosen to share the information it said it held with Russia.
Egyptian officials said the investigation into the crash was still underway and insisted mechanical failure was still a possibility.
On Friday morning, the British government announced plans to repatriate Britons -- 19 aircraft from a range of U.K. airlines were to fly out empty to the Egyptian resort to bring back tourists with just their hand luggage.
Any larger bags would be held for further security screening and flown back on a different flight.
Flights turned back
However, the plan was thrown into chaos when one airline announced its planes had been refused permission to land at Sharm el-Sheikh Airport.
Users following air traffic website FlightRadar spotted flights changing course. Two Thomas Cook aircraft were diverted mid-flight to Cyprus while another made an about-turn in Albanian airspace to head back to the U.K.
Egypt’s transport minister said in a statement that there were 74 planned departures from Sharm el-Sheik on Friday, one-third of which would be heading to the U.K. The airport did not have the capacity to accommodate further repatriation flights or the growing mountain of bulky luggage its passengers were leaving behind.
As the hours passed, more and more British passengers arrived at the airport hoping to return home. Tempers flared as boarding cards failed to appear and scuffles broke out among some passengers.
"We got hit twice in arrivals at Sharm going through security," Emma Turner, travelling with her husband and children, told The Guardian. "They had one door open and we had children with us. Coming through the security was abysmal. It was absolutely horrendous. There was no security."
TV broadcaster Sky News showed footage of onlookers heckling John Casson, the U.K. ambassador to Cairo, as he gave interviews to the media inside the terminal building.
The day of drama was capped late Friday evening when Russia announced that it would also be suspending all flights to Egypt flights, potentially isolating more than 45,000 Russian tourists in the country.
The passengers and their belongings are due to be returned over the coming days but the implications for Egypt's tourism industry -- already struck by two revolutions over the last four years -- seems ominous.
It is still far from clear if Daesh was responsible for planting a bomb on the Russian flight as the group has claimed.
The chief Egyptian investigator, Ayman El-Mokadem, told reporters Saturday his team was considering “all possible scenarios”.
For Michael Fallon, Britain's defense secretary, the tragedy is another reason why the U.K. should reconsider airstrikes against Daesh in Syria.
Australia, France and the U.S. all conduct operations against the group but Britain needs parliamentary permission to join them. A vote has yet to be arranged as the government remains unsure of its chances of success.
“If you believe ISIL is a threat to your country it does seem very odd to rely on Australian aircraft to go halfway round the globe to keep your own streets safe,” Fallon told the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, using another acronym for Daesh.
“That is morally indefensible that our streets should be protected by French, Australian and American aircraft, when we are not prepared to bite the bullet and get the Tornados dealing with these supply routes.”
