The German carrier had canceled its flights to the Egyptian capital over unspecified "safety concerns." But British Airways has refused to reinstate flights, citing a "heightened risk of terrorism against aviation."
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Lufthansa resumed daily direct flights to Cairo on Sunday following a brief suspension of services a day earlier. The airline mentioned "safety" as its chief concern, without giving further details.
Flight LH582 departed Frankfurt at 12:34 p.m. CEST (1034 UTC) — two hours later than scheduled. It landed safely at Cairo International Airport. A second Lufthansa flight was scheduled to depart from Munich around 9 p.m. Sunday evening.
British Airways (BA) flights to Cairo remained suspended as part of what the carrier described as its constant review of security arrangements, calling the measure "a precaution to allow for further assessment."
In its latest travel advisory, the British Foreign Office urged Britons against traveling to Egypt, saying: "Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt." It emphasized "a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation."
Flights departing Egypt for the UK were also undergoing "additional security measures." The Foreign Office urged passengers to "cooperate fully with security officials at airports."
Air France, Etihad Airways and Emirates have refrained from suspending flights. "We are closely assessing the situation and are in contact with the relevant aviation authorities with regards to our flight operations to Egypt," said an Emirates spokesperson.
Aviation authorities and airliners have been on high alert concerning the security of flights, especially those traveling to and from Egypt since 2015.
The rise of Islamic extremism in and around Egypt since the 1990s has seen a big rise the number of attacks targeting tourists and non-Muslims. DW looks back at some of the most devastating.
Image: picture-alliance/AA
1997 Luxor massacre
Sixty-two tourists were killed at Egypt's Deir el-Bahri archaeological site in Luxor. Six assailants, thought to have been linked to al-Qaida, disguised themselves as members of the security forces and descended on the temple armed with automatic machine guns and knives. Egyptian tourist police and military forces eventually stopped the attackers, who were either killed or committed suicide.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. El-Dakhakhny
2004 Sinai bombings
A series of bomb attacks targeting tourists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killed 34 people and injured 171. Most of the casualties were killed after a truck drove into the lobby of the Taba Hilton. Two more bombs went off at campsites some 50 kilometers away, killing a handful of people. Roughly half the casualties were foreigners, including 12 Israelis.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Nabil
2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks
The attack in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh was carried out on Egypt's Revolution Day and for a decade remained the worst Islamist attack in Egypt's history. A series of bombs planted close to bars and restaurants, as well as by a hotel, killed 88 people and injured 150. The majority of victims were locals, although a number of tourists also died, including 11 British nationals.
Image: dpa
2006 Dahab bombings
The attack on the the Egyptian resort city of Dahab marked the third consecutive year that tourist resorts had been targeted. A series of blasts in a restaurant, a café and a market killed at least 23 people, most of whom were local, and wounded around 80. Egyptian officials maintain that the attacks were carried out by the Islamist cell known as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, a forerunner of "IS."
Image: AP
2015 Metrojet Flight 9268 disaster
All 224 mostly Russian passengers were killed when Metrojet Flight 9268 suddenly dropped out of the sky over the Egypt's Sinai peninsula, shortly after having taken off from Sharm el-Sheikh international airport. Authorities agree that it appeared a bomb had been snuck on board. The so-called "Islamic State" jihadi group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Grigoriev
2016 Attacks on Egypt's Coptic Christian minorities
While Egypt's Coptic Christians have for decades been targeted by Islamists, deadly attacks on Coptic churches have increased dramatically in recent months. At least 102 Egyptian Christians have been killed in four separate attacks since December 2016.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Stringer
2017 Coptic church and Al-Rawda mosque bombings
On April 9, 2017, the Coptic church faith followers encountered devastating twin blasts in Tanta and Alexandria as they celebrated Palm Sunday, killing 28 and 17 people respectively. On November 24, 2017, a bomb went off outside of Al-Rawda mosque in the city of Al-Arish in the northern Sinai Peninsula, which claimed the lives of more than 300 people and injured 109 others.