Scots tourists due to return from Egypt

Hundreds of Scots are due to arrive back in Edinburgh on Monday evening. Picture: Ian Georgeson

A direct flight from Sharm el Sheikh to Edinburgh operated by Thomson Airways is due to land in the capital at 11.40pm, one of six flights scheduled to return to the UK on Monday amid heightened security measures following last week’s Russian plane crash.

Around 5,300 holidaymakers have been flown home since flights began on Friday, with nearly 2,000 coming home from the popular Red Sea tourist resort on eight flights over the course of Sunday.

As well as the Edinburgh flight, TOM619, which is due to depart from Egypt at 7.15pm local time, Thomson is also flying tourists home to London Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham today. All flights are due to arrive in the UK in the late evening.

In a statement, Thomson apologised to its customers for their inconvenience, but described the situation as “continuously evolving.”

It said: “We continue to work with the UK Government to try and finalise our flying programme for the following days and we will update accordingly when further information becomes available.

“These flights will operate under special security measures mandated by the UK Government. Customers will not be able to bring any hold luggage with them on these flights. Only hand luggage can be brought on board and normal Thomson cabin baggage restrictions apply.

“All hold luggage will be returned to customers under separate secure cover arranged by the UK Government.”

It added: “All other customers remain in their hotels on the same board basis and our experienced resort team is keeping them up to date on the latest developments. Our UK team continues to liaise with the government and the Egyptian authorities to try and resolve this fluid and continually evolving situation.”