Egypt specialist Peltours fears a pricing bloodbath in the Red Sea this winter as a lot more operators launch debut programmes and the massive 4 enhance capacity.

The region’s popularity has soared in the past couple of years as UK operators have switched their focus from Egypt’s cities to Sharm el Sheikh and other beach resorts, prompting the area to be dubbed the Red Sea Riviera.

Sales and marketing director Darren Panto warned Sharm el Sheikh was facing a particular trouble.

“We go to Sharm only on tours, but others are piling capability into the resort,” he mentioned.

“Argo and Planet have announced programmes for the primary time and Thomson is trebling capability.

Byline: By Gayle Tomlinson

The lure of the Egyptian sun is assisting to send one particular of Newcastle Airport’s new routes sky high.

Geordies are snapping up bargain holidays to the Red Sea soon after the airport launched the new package holidays to Egypt.

The airport, which has just opened a pounds 7m extension, stated it has had an overwhelming response for the route to Egypt’s top rated beach resort Sharm el Sheikh and the initially flight has not even taken off but.

Tour operators Thomson and Thomas Cook are running 1 flight a week to the Red Sea where North East folk can bask in the winter sun, scuba dive or travel to take in the ancient websites of Cairo.

The package tours start on October 31 and have been advertised in vacation brochures considering the fact that June.

Newcastle Airport chief executive, John Parkin, stated they had been delighted with the response. “It is going nicely beyond expectations and it is specifically especially famous location for men and women who like diving,” he mentioned.

“Egypt has place a substantial investment into Sharm el Sheikh‘s hotels and infrastructure and visitors are assured decent weather.”

“What it does demonstrate is that there is an appetite for points that are several. That is why so plenty of of the new routes we have started out have executed so well, as a result of it has not been supplied just before.”

A spokeswoman for Thomson Holidays said trips leaving from Newcastle Airport had been doing even superior than other airports in the south. She mentioned: “We are particularly pleased with the way sales are going for flights from Newcastle to Sharm El Sheikh.

“The most favorite months so far are November and December. Newcastle is in reality outselling the southern airports in terms of flights to this sunshine location.”

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A flight from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, to Moscow, Russia, was delayed for two hours right after the flight crew and passengers refused to fly with two Chechen females on board.

The females had boarded the KrasAir flight and locked themselves in the aircraft’s toilet before take-off, prompting fears that they may have been terrorists. Female Chechen suicide bombers are thought to have been behind two fatal attacks on Russian aircraft at the end of August 2004.

Flight crew asked the Egyptian authorities to eliminate the ladies from the flight. The girls at some point left the aircraft, which took off for Russia two hours behind schedule, reports the Moscow Instances.

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The families of the 134 French tourists who died when an aircraft of Egyptian-based mostly Flash Airlines crashed in the Red Sea in January 2004 have accused French investigators of withholding facts.

The Boeing 737 crashed minutes soon after takeoff from the diving resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing 148 individuals. A spokesperson for the families of the French victims stated that the following nine months the French authorities have failed to explain the causes of the crash.

The households went on to say that the French civil aviation authority had shirked its responsibility to passengers as it knew the dire monetary and safety levels of Flash Airlines, and the accident could have been avoided, reports Reuters.

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Historically, Egypt has been a late-booking location. We have, nonetheless, observed a shift in booking patterns considering that the troubles of last year and the industry to Egypt has bounced back highly immediately. Our most effective- selling tours are Splendours of Egypt, Delights of the Nile, and the Nile to the Red Sea. The tours are more trendy than ever and advance bookings very much more powerful than in earlier years. Demand for Egypt is growing in general, even even though most of the development appears to be to Sharm el Sheikh and Taba.

Paul Riches, sales and marketing director, Libra Holidays