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Original poster

To ask why people can't get back from sharm...

53 replies

TheoriginalLEM · 11/11/2015 00:10

sorry. i know it's probably been done yo death but why can't folk get back?

my dd got stuck in Spain during the ash cloud thing and after a few days of novelty she was pretty shaken so these people must be petrified.

It has to do with the Russian air crash i know but why can't they get back and why don't we send the army for them. i think dd came back with the navy after the ash cloud. (or my memory is playing tricks on me again )

OP posts:
Puzzledandpissedoff · 11/11/2015 12:37

I heard that they RAF will be going out to pick up the baggage. That'll be a big plane fitted out for cargo, not with seats for passengers

That sounds an excellent idea, though frankly I can imagine the Egyptians getting awkward about this too

Considering the obvious security problems in the area, I worry about what might have been put in some of those cases left behind (though obviously I wouldn't want anything to happen to RAF staff either)

Tomatoesareyum · 11/11/2015 13:28

The border between Israel and Egypt is open and tourists can pass without issue although the security is unlikely to be pleasant. If they need to get back it's perfectly possible to take a taxi to the border, cross into Israel and then take a bus or taxi to tel aviv and fly home. Granted, it would be a long and not particularly cheap way to get back but would save being stranded in Egypt any longer and you could take your luggage with you too.

hedgehogsdontbite · 11/11/2015 13:43

We can't just send in the army/airforce/navy to bring people back if Egypt doesn't agree to it. 'Invading' another country is probably not the best idea just now.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 11/11/2015 14:20

We had a lovely time in Egypt a few years back. We visited the temple of Hatshepsut where the guide helpfully pointed out where all the tourists had been gunned down in a previous terror attack. And the day after we got home a Hilton hotel, just like the one we'd stayed in, was bombed. It's such a shame because we thought it was a lovely friendly country. Confused

Anastasie · 11/11/2015 14:41

I have to agree it probably wasn't a very wise choice for a holiday in the first place. If you go somewhere like that then really you kind of have to take the hit when something goes a bit wrong.

I'm sure they will all be home very shortly. They've no reason to be petrified - not sure why they would be? Apart from the ongoing concern about the safety of air travel out of there, obviously - but not allowing baggage onboard is a sensible precaution, and it is probably one of the safest airports in the world right now.

People need to calm down.

Anastasie · 11/11/2015 14:44

What I mean is it really highlights the fact that these holidays are pretty artificial.

'Oh no I'm in Egypt' - well why did people go there to begin with, then? to enjoy the 'tourist' lifestyle, away from anything remotely dangerous, I suppose - away from poverty and trouble.

Real people have to live there all the time, it's real life, you can't always pay to be protected from it...

P1nkP0ppy · 11/11/2015 14:53

Part of the problem is that the airport is too small for larger planes hence inevitable delays. Security seems to be somewhat casual to put it mildly and still remains so according to reports today on BBC.
Unless the British government can ensure that passengers are safe then staying put is the best option.
Certainly a taxi to Tel Aviv would be only marginally less hazardous!

Shakshuka · 11/11/2015 15:54

There are flights all the time from Eilat to Tel Aviv. Takes half an hour.

I'd be a bit twitchy about the drive from Sharm to the border. They're safe and protected in Sharm whereas once you're of the perimeter fence you're far less safe.

But if I were really in a hurry or really wanted to travel with my luggage (and without kids), I'd definitely just get a taxi or bus to the border at Taba, hop on a flight from Eilat to Tel Aviv and be home in two shakes of a tail (although with much less money!)

moooooo83 · 11/11/2015 16:11

Does anyone wonder about the fact there are so many people in an airport (more than on a plane) surrounded with luggage that it isn't deemed safe enough to fly with?
I guess most of it hasn't been through security checks etc either...
If I was there I would be avoiding being in the airport until the last second...

Anastasie · 11/11/2015 16:17

No, because no one is going to stuff a bomb into a suitcase in a massive pile of luggage. The point was to bring down a plane - if it was indeed a device that did this.

I mean it's possible something could have been placed in luggage in a hotel but even if so, it'll be in a separate building to the passenger terminal and all it'd destroy is a load of other luggage.

I doubt anyone would be so stupid as to try and do something like that with the high profile contingent of overseas security at the airport right now, anyway.

And no one is yet 100% certain it was a bomb. It's a precaution. Egypt isn't a safe place, and security is apparently very lax and that's the concern.

Osolea · 11/11/2015 16:20

I have a couple of friends stranded out there at the moment. They are having a great time, all paid for by holiday companies and insurance companies. They're only getting a couple of extra days, and they are fine.

Anastasie · 11/11/2015 16:20

Btw some carriers already operate a separate luggage service on some of their tourist flights (El Al I think? can't remember) prior to this event.

Taking out a cargo plane full of flip flops doesn't have the same swing about it as bringing down a plane load of innocent people, which removes some of the attraction for the terrorists.

Underdogsbollocks · 11/11/2015 17:21

Because the British government want to make sure everyone is going through rigorous security, which unfortunately they're not. I have to relatives who managed to get a flight back to Manchester on Saturday, one of them went through security with a bottle of water in his bag, he had forgotten it was in there and it wasn't picked up by security Confused.

Underdogsbollocks · 11/11/2015 17:22

Two relatives that should be Blush.

specialsubject · 11/11/2015 18:25

it seems that it was possible to bypass all security at Sharm for £20 until last week.

While it must be no fun at all to be stuck there, I am not impressed at some of the scenes we have been shown, given that more than 200 Russians won't be going home at all.

Anastasie · 11/11/2015 18:41

Sadly I think certain types of holiday, a bit like certain types of wedding, breed a hideous sense of entitlement.

MrsUltra · 11/11/2015 19:08

Sadly I think certain types of holiday, a bit like certain types of wedding, breed a hideous sense of entitlement.
Precisely.
These people wanted a cheapo holiday in hot sun, regardless of the political situation, and then start bleating that 'they' should get them home.

atticusclaw2 · 11/11/2015 19:15

You'd be bonkers to get a taxi from Sharm to Eilat atm. It's simply not safe.

Anastasie · 11/11/2015 19:18

Although to be fair, there will be very pleasant people having those types of holiday too.

It's just - more like certain types of people really, I suppose. It's embarrassing to think they are British, and that people might think we are all like that.

Draylon · 11/11/2015 19:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ubik1 · 11/11/2015 20:00

Do you mean the Boxing Day Tsunami which killed 230,000 people across 14 countries. It was pretty hard to avoid that one - a natural disaster which no one could have predicted.

There's a huge difference Hmm

And no I would not be getting a taxi to Eilat either.

HortonWho · 11/11/2015 20:15

Er, you can't just swan around from Sinai to Israel, especially with a recent bombing. It was always standard advise if you go to Israel, get them to give you an entry stamp on a piece of paper rather than in your passport or you will get hassled (and in some countries refused entry) in some Middle East and gulf countries. I think this changed a few years back and now it's always given on a separate card.

10 years ago, you could hire a local taxi driver to drive you 5-6 hours to Cairo and jump on a plane from there. But after the revolution, that stretch of road isn't safe for locals never mind tourists. And also you needed an Egyptian visa.
Brits going to Sharm don't bother with an Egyptian visa as they are in Sinai and allowed to stay there for 2 weeks with only an entry stamp received at airport. They cannot enter rest of Egypt without a visa, so they can't organise buses with armed guards and bus them all back to Cairo or even Hurgahada on flights.

bakingaddict · 11/11/2015 20:23

I do hate the condescending attitude some posters are exhibiting on here. Shall we just leave them at the mercy of Sharm security because they've had the audacity to want a some R&R in the sun. I'm sure some people will be getting fretful because they have work and other commitments they need to get back for

Shakshuka · 11/11/2015 20:26

You absolutely can go from Sinai to Israel. The two-week Sinai entry visa is valid for travel from Sharm to the border at Taba. Whether it's safe is another question (but then again, I'm not sure that Sharm itself is all that safe) but it's totally possible.

HortonWho · 11/11/2015 20:37

Sorry I'm not suggesting there isn't an asphalt road between the two. It's been answered in press anyway here among others

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