German tour operators will resume charter holidays to Sharm el Sheikh this autumn, one year after the crash of a Russian plane and following airport security improvements in recent months.
Charter carriers Germania and Sun Express will operate flights to the Egyptian resort, offering capacity to several tour operators, including Thomas Cook/Neckermann, FTI, DER Touristik and ETI. Germania will operate weekly flights (on Mondays) from Munich and D?sseldorf from November 7 onwards. Sun Express reportedly plans flights from Frankfurt from the end of September, although the starting date for flights remains uncertain.
DER Touristik’s head of package holidays Rolf-Dieter Maltzahn said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer Sharm el Sheikh again after the authorities gave a green light in terms of airport security.” ETI managing director Maja-Jennifer K?hl commented: “Bookings for all three routes are looking positive.” Thomas Cook said its Neckermann Reisen brand is offering nine hotels in the resort this winter.
Tamer Marzouk, head of the Egyptian Tourist Office in Germany, welcomed the new charter flights. “I’m happy for Sharm el Sheikh, and for the rest of Egypt as well. It’s a good signal for the coming months.” According to his figures, there will be 101 weekly flights from Germany to Egypt in winter 2016/17, not far from the 113 weekly flights operated in the record year of 2010.
Doubling overall flights
FTI, the largest German tour operator to Egypt, said it is doubling overall flights to the country this coming winter, offering daily departures for more customer flexibility. In total, there are 80 weekly flights from 20 airports in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with various airline partners, including Sun Express, Air Berlin, Condor and Germania, along with eight new TUIfly routes from Hanover, D?sseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich.
“Egypt is back. The growing and strong demand for Red Sea holidays this summer and the already very good bookings for the winter reinforce our plan to expand our flight programme,” said Sven Schikarsky, FTI’s Managing Director Tour Operating Package.
Meanwhile, international visitor numbers to Egypt dropped by 42% to 529,000 in July, and by 50% in the first half-year as a whole, according to the country’s statistics authority. Russian visitor numbers fell by 60%, British by 17.5% and German by 10.4%.
As a result of the tourism decline, some 220 Egyptian hotels have closed since last October, including 54 in Sharm el-Sheikh and 34 in Hurghada, according to local media reports.
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