Thomas Cook Scraps Summer Holidays To Sharm

Thomas Cook has extended its cancellation of trips to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh until the end of October because of security fears.

The travel operator had previously stopped flights following the downing of a Russian passenger jet last year - covering holidays up to and including 25 May - following Foreign Office advice.

The company said the advice had not changed and there was "no clear indication" of when it would, so this will now be extended to 31 October.

The company said: "We appreciate that this may be frustrating for our customers."

Customers who had been due to travel to Sharm el Sheikh up to and including that date are able to cancel or amend their holiday to another destination for free, the travel operator said.

Thomas Cook would normally expect to fly 4,000 passengers to the resort between now and the end of October.

UK flights to Sharm were suspended in November because of security fears at the Red Sea resort's airport.

That came after an Airbus 321 operated by Russian airline Metrojet crashed in Egypt, killing 224 people on 31 October. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for downing the jet .

More than 16,000 Britons stranded in the area were brought home on a series of rescue flights amid heightened security.

The Foreign Office continues to advise against all but essential travel by air to or from Sharm el Sheikh.

Last month, Thomas Cook admitted that security concerns had dented its bookings over the summer - following the Sharm incident as well as attacks in Tunisia, Turkey and Paris.

It has responded by offering more holidays in alternative destinations such as Spain, Cyprus, Bulgaria, the US and Cuba.

Other operators also continue not to fly to Sharm el Sheikh.

Easyjet has already suspended flights to the resort until 27 May. Due to reduced demand it has also stopped trips from Manchester, Luton and Gatwick until October.

But it plans to resume flights from Stansted on 29 May should the Foreign Office travel advice change.

Thomson last month said it had cancelled trips to Sharm up to 25 May and also made changes to a number of flights and hotels for holidays booked up until the end of October.

Monarch last month said its cancellations had been extended until 18 April. It is due to provide a further update next Monday.

British Airways has already said it is not operating flights until 15 September.