Investments in vital German market after Sharm exit

The German market has become even more important for Egypt after Russia banned all flights to the country and the UK issued a travel warning for Sharm el-Sheikh in response to the recent Russian jet crash in the Sinai Peninsula, which killed 224 people.

German tour operators have now also pulled out of Sharm el-Sheikh after the German transport ministry ordered all passenger baggage on return flights to be transported separately on cargo aircraft for security reasons. The foreign ministry has not issued any specific advice for the destination. In response, FTI, the largest German tour operator to Egypt, TUI, Thomas Cook and DER Touristik all announced on Monday (November 16) that they would suspend all holidays in the Egyptian resort.

FTI CEO Dietmar Gunz said the tour operator and flight partner Sun Express “were completely surprised” by the transport ministry’s decision. “We cannot subject our customers to that,” he said. FTI said there would be no departures before next March, and offered all customers free re-bookings to alternative destinations, including Hurghada and Marsa Alam, or free cancellations. However, like with other German tour operators, Sharm el-Sheikh is only a minor destination for FTI, accounting for about 7% of its total customer volumes in Egypt.