President Vladimir Putin ordered the suspension of all Russian passenger flights to Egypt yesterday as Western officials said intelligence “chatter” supported the theory that the jet was brought down by a bomb.
Mr Putin’s decision was a response to the crash of an Airbus A321 operated by a Russian carrier on Saturday over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people on board were killed.
British and US spies intercepted “chatter” from suspected militants and at least one other government suggesting that a bomb, possibly hidden in a luggage in the hold, downed the airliner, Western intelligence sources said.
The intelligence sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the evidence was not categorical and there was still no hard forensic or scientific evidence to support the bomb theory. Britain, which said a bomb planted by an Islamic State affiliate may have caused the crash, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, had already suspended regular flights to Sharm al-Sheikh where the downed Russian airliner originated.
Russia says ‘too early to say what caused crash’
Turkey said yesterday it was also cancelling flights to the Egyptian resort.
Russia’s decision may be the first sign that Moscow, which launched air strikes against Islamist fighters including Islamic State in Syria more than a month ago, is attaching credibility to the theory that militants put a bomb on the aircraft. However, the Kremlin said the decision to suspend flights did not mean it thought the crash was caused by a terrorist attack.
Russia has said it is too early to say what caused the crash and that all theories, including technical failure, should be examined by the official investigation. Mr Putin acted after Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s FSB security service, recommended that Russia suspend all passenger flights to Egypt until it knew exactly what caused the crash.
A Sinai-based group affiliated with Islamic State, the militants who have seized swathes of Iraq and Syria, has claimed responsibility for the crash, which, if confirmed, would make it the jihadist organisation’s first attack on civil aviation.
Egypt is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Russians and any decision to suspend flights would cause major logistical problems for Russia’s airlines and tourists. The Russian Travel Industry Union estimated there were around 50,000 Russian tourists currently in Egypt and said refunding cancelled tickets to Egypt could bankrupt Russian tour operators, the Interfax news agency reported.
The fate of Egypt’s tourist industry, a vital source of hard currency for a struggling economy, is at stake as well as the credibility of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s claims to have brought under control the militants fighting to topple his government.