Egypt boosts airport security after Russia plane crash

CAIRO — Egypt said on Tuesday it is bolstering security at airports over the possibility that a Russian plane that took off from a Sinai resort was brought down by a bomb.

The Daesh terror group has said it caused the October 31 crash, but has not provided any details.

"Taking into consideration all possible causes behind the plane crash, including the possibility that it was targeted by a terrorist attack, the Egyptian authorities have enhanced security measures in all airports," an interior ministry statement said.

It came as the civil aviation minister said a probe had yet to reach any final conclusions about the disaster, speaking shortly after Russia said a bomb had brought down the aircraft.

"Until now the [investigation] committee has not yet arrived to any results indicating the cause of the crash," Hossam Kamal told a news conference.

The Metrojet plane, operated by Russian firm Kogalymavia, came down shortly after take-off from resort Sharm El Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board in Russia's worst air disaster.

The crash prompted Britain to restrict flights to the resort, and Moscow to all Egyptian airports while barring the national carrier EgyptAir from Russia.

The interior ministry statement said that there was a review of screening measures for passengers and luggage, “and enhancement of search procedures for passengers and workers upon entry into the airport”.

It added that “security sweeps” of aircraft would take place as well as “reviews of flight crews’ security permits”.

It is not known how a bomb would have been smuggled aboard before it departed the popular Red Sea resort, but there have been suspicions of an inside job.

The interior ministry said in a separate statement on Tuesday that there have been no arrests at the airport over the incident, and Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Gaffar confirmed this to reporters.

“Until now there is no information on breaches” of security at the airport, he said at a press conference.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said failures in security at Sharm El Sheikh Airport may have enabled a bomb to be smuggled on board.

“Where this points the finger is at the capability of the security on the ground at Sharm El Sheikh,” he said.

The Britain-based PGI risk management group said in a report that the disaster had “cast a spotlight on the prospect of an insider threat at airports, which requires an alternative security response”.

Security changes could cause delays and extra costs, PGI said.

“There will likely be some resistance from the aviation industry to knee-jerk measures, for example proposals for passengers to identify their luggage before being loaded onto aircraft,” the report said.

“Nonetheless, airports will inevitably feel pressure to adopt tighter security practices due to reputational and competitive disadvantages of perceived non-compliance with new security norms.”