Airport Chaos As Russia Suspends Egypt Flights

Russia is suspending flights to Egypt amid growing evidence that a jet with 224 people on board was blown up by a terrorist bomb.

Vladimir Putin - who had previously dismissed claims of Islamic State involvement in the Metrojet disaster - said he was ordering his government to draft a plan for getting some 45,000 Russians currently in the country home.

The Russian President's U-turn came just after a day after he said Britain was jumping the gun by stopping flights, after spies uncovered evidence that Islamic State-linked militants may have smuggled a bomb into the aircraft's hold .

But the Kremlin insisted the move should not be treated as a sign that Russia has been convinced terrorists were responsible.

The decision was announced as rescue flights for Britons were suspended by the Egyptian authorities - leaving hundreds of angry and confused tourists stranded at Sharm el Sheikh's airport.

With passengers already at the airport waiting to depart, Egypt's Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal said the number of flights cleared to depart for the UK on Friday had been cut from 29 to just eight.

Mr Kamal blamed a ban on hold luggage imposed by the British authorities, claiming the airport would not be able to function normally with thousands of cases potentially left behind.

EasyJet said eight of its planned departures had been postponed - but it was expecting to fly 339 passengers home on two flights that were going ahead.

The airline said: "We are working with the UK Government at the highest level on a solution. In the meantime we are also working on a contingency plan so we can operate as soon as we receive permission to fly."

British Airways said its flight from Sharm to Gatwick was expected to leave as planned while five Monarch planes have left the UK for Egypt, with the airline saying they are expected to return on schedule.

There were tense scenes at the airport, with a confrontation between angry passengers and Britain's ambassador to Egypt John Casson caught on camera.

David Cameron's spokesman said the situation in Egypt was "complex and difficult" but the Government was working with the Egyptian authorities to get holidaymakers home safely.

Sarah Cotterill, a mother-of-one from Portsmouth who was on the budget carrier's Gatwick flight, told Sky News Egyptian military were guarding the plane on the tarmac at Sharm.

The suspension came as lax security was exposed at Sharm airport after a British holidaymaker revealed he jumped queues and baggage checks by paying just £20.

Dale Parkyn told Sky News the gravity of the situation was only brought home to him following the downing of a Russian airliner at the weekend.

:: How Security Flaws May Have Led To Bomb On Jet

The 47-year-old from Harrogate had been on holiday with his partner, Joanne, in the Egyptian resort earlier this year.

But when they arrived at the airport for their return journey they were shocked at the length of the queues.

It was then they were approached by a security guard who they say offered them the chance to avoid a lengthy wait by paying a £20 fee.

After paying the money they say they were led by the official past the queues and the security gates unchecked, before boarding their flight home.

Mr Parkyn said there had been a big military presence at the airport.

He told Sky News: "The queues were terrific. We said 'Ah, we’d had a really nice holiday, we'd really like to get home, but look at the queues'.

"And then that's when we were approached.

"We'd seen all these personnel carriers and all these people from the Army there, and a guy approached me, sort of slid up to the side of me, who seemed to have a bullet-proof ballistics vest on, covered up with a jumper. He just said 'would you like to avoid these queues?'

"What we did is we discussed it and he then produced a £20 note and said 'have you one of these' and you can avoid the queue.

"We just had one main piece of luggage which was then lifted up and taken through.

"We walked right through the security gates and security procedure, straight through the airport, avoided all the queues, and then he put the case on the conveyor belt and the girl checked us in. At no point did my luggage go through any scanner. When I think now it was bizarre.

"At the time it was quite amusing that for us, for £20, we'd avoided all the queues.

"It was only after listening to the news last night that I realised the gravity of what potentially could have happened.

"We obviously didn't think that at the time. We were just quite pleased to kind of expedite the journey through the airport."