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Planes of British Airways at Heathrow Airport, London, May 3, 2019. BEN STANSALL / AFP

British Airways and Lufthansa announced Saturday the suspension of flights to Cairo. For the German airline, flights will resume Sunday while British Airways planes will not leave for a week. British authorities mention " increased risk of terrorism against aviation ".

British Airways first announced flights to Cairo for a week on Saturday, July 20th. Lufthansa followed in the evening by announcing a suspension until the day after his flights to Cairo, indicating no particular reason.

On the British side, the British Airways company cites a precautionary stop: " We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world, and we have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further evaluation. "

Terrorist risks to aviation

On its travel advisor's page to Egypt, the UK's Foreign Ministry reports an " increased risk of terrorism against aviation ". " Additional security measures are in place for flights departing from Egypt to the UK, " adds the Foreign Office (FCO).

The United Kingdom advises against all flights, except essential journeys, to or from the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula.

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" Terrorists are highly likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt. Although most attacks occur in northern Sinai, there is a risk of terrorist attacks throughout the country, "says the FCO.

Increased capacity of EgyptAir to London

For its part, the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation announced in a statement to be in " coordination " with the British Embassy and the British Airways representative in Cairo. In particular, the ministry said it had " increased the passenger capacity of EgyptAir flights to London ."