Thomas Cook cancels holiday destination Sharm el-Sheikh due to security situation

Travel company Thomas Cook will rebook or cancel free of charge the holiday of around thousand travellers with destination Sharm el-Sheikh. This decision comes after the cancellation of the Brussels Airlines flights to the destination, based on a safety evaluation for the Sinaï region. Thomas Cook has recently been informed by the airline of this safety evaluation.

In the coming days, Thomas Cook will contact the travellers concerned and will look for the best solution together with them: either changing to another Egyptian destination outside the Sinaï desert such as Hurghada, selecting another holiday destination or by cancelling the trip. All this without additional change and cancellation costs.

Brussels Airlines had scheduled weekly flights between Brussels Airport and Sharm el-Sheikh between 29 June 2018 and end of August 2018, a total of nine flights. Kim Daenen, Brussels Airlines spokeswoman added that the decision is in line with the entire Lufthansa group, which doesn’t fly to Sharm-el-Sheikh since three years.

Terrorist threat

The official travel advice from the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs still states that “travelling to Southern Sinaï, with the exception of the hotel zone around Sharm el-Sheikh, is not recommended“.

Foreign Affairs points out that travelers must be aware that “there is also a terrorist threat around the hotel zone“.

While Brussels Airlines cancels all flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, TUI fly Belgium still operates to the region.