by Selina O'Grady and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, London
21 minutes ago
Egyptian officials say the reports are inaccurate and the plane was not at risk. A UK government probe concluded there had not been a "targeted attack".
Meanwhile Britons are continuing to fly home from Sharm el-Sheikh in the wake of last week's Russian plane crash.
The government said it expected about 3,000 people to have come back by the end of Saturday, after UK-bound planes were halted on Wednesday amid fears the passenger plane had been brought down by a bomb.
A spokesman said: "It is important that people stay at their resort until they have confirmation from their airline or tour operator that they are on a flight back to the UK and that they follow their airline's advice on the appropriate arrival time at the airport.
"Any British nationals requiring assistance, over and above that being provided by their airline and tour operators, can call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 020 7008 0000."
Two flights to the UK from Egypt on Saturday have now departed, with more expected later.
A Thomas Cook flight left Sharm el-Sheikh shortly before 15:00 GMT with 220 passengers on board bound for Gatwick. A Thomson flight is expected at Bristol at 22:20 GMT.
Aviation security experts told BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner it had involved artillery practice by the Egyptian army.
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According to the Daily Mail, the plane was forced to manoeuvre away from a rocket as it flew into Sharm el-Sheikh.
Thomson has confirmed "an event" was reported by the crew of flight TOM 476 on 23 August 2015 and was reported to the UK Department for Transport.
A spokesman said: "The DfT conducted a full investigation in conjunction with other UK government experts. After reviewing the details of the case, the investigation concluded that there was no cause for concern and it was safe to continue our flying programme to Sharm-el Sheikh."
Speaking on the BBC's Today programme aviation expert Alastair Rosenschein described the incident as "quite extraordinary".
He said: "I'm not sure that I buy the fact that it was a military exercise and that a missile passed to within a 1,000ft of an aircraft that was presumably on the correct flight path on the approach to land at Sharm el-Sheikh. It most certainly does not happen. I suspect that this is not the full story."
Egypt's foreign ministry said the allegations were "preposterous" and "completely inaccurate".
A spokesman said the incident involved ground-to-ground firing at a military base a few miles from Sharm-el Sheikh airport, and that no plane was in danger.
An estimated 19,000 British nationals are thought to be stranded in the Egyptian resort after the the UK suspended all flights between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday.
Flights restarted on Friday with increased security measures but only eight of the 29 scheduled flights were able to depart. The remaining 21 were cancelled by the Egyptian authorities because of the build up of passengers and luggage.
The UK's ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, told the BBC: "We have got good co-operation now which will allow us to get people home as soon as possible. Let us remember this has always been about making sure that when people go home they go home safely."
Britons are being allowed to travel home only with hand baggage; hold luggage is to be flown back separately.
EasyJet, Monarch, Thomson, Thomas Cook and British Airways have scheduled UK-bound flights from the resort from mid-afternoon local time on Saturday.
British nationals in Sharm el-Sheikh are encouraged to check with their airline or tour operator on their travel plans.
Scheduled flights for Saturday afternoon are:
French aviation officials have told the BBC the crash was not caused by technical failures, and other French officials said the flight data recorder suggested a "violent, sudden" explosion.
Are you due to return from Sharm el-Sheikh to the UK today? If you have any information to share with the BBC, you can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
21 minutes ago
A UK plane had to take evasive action over Egypt in an incident reportedly involving a missile in August.
The Daily Mail says a missile passed a Thomson Airways London to Sharm el-Sheikh flight carrying 189 passengers. Egyptian officials say the reports are inaccurate and the plane was not at risk. A UK government probe concluded there had not been a "targeted attack".
Meanwhile Britons are continuing to fly home from Sharm el-Sheikh in the wake of last week's Russian plane crash.
The government said it expected about 3,000 people to have come back by the end of Saturday, after UK-bound planes were halted on Wednesday amid fears the passenger plane had been brought down by a bomb.
A spokesman said: "It is important that people stay at their resort until they have confirmation from their airline or tour operator that they are on a flight back to the UK and that they follow their airline's advice on the appropriate arrival time at the airport.
"Any British nationals requiring assistance, over and above that being provided by their airline and tour operators, can call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 020 7008 0000."
Two flights to the UK from Egypt on Saturday have now departed, with more expected later.
A Thomas Cook flight left Sharm el-Sheikh shortly before 15:00 GMT with 220 passengers on board bound for Gatwick. A Thomson flight is expected at Bristol at 22:20 GMT.
'Full story'
The government has confirmed an investigation into the reported missile incident was carried out by the Department for Transport.Aviation security experts told BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner it had involved artillery practice by the Egyptian army.
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Could IS have bombed Flight 9268?
How has airport security changed?
Charlie Hebdo in crash cartoon row
According to the Daily Mail, the plane was forced to manoeuvre away from a rocket as it flew into Sharm el-Sheikh.
Thomson has confirmed "an event" was reported by the crew of flight TOM 476 on 23 August 2015 and was reported to the UK Department for Transport.
A spokesman said: "The DfT conducted a full investigation in conjunction with other UK government experts. After reviewing the details of the case, the investigation concluded that there was no cause for concern and it was safe to continue our flying programme to Sharm-el Sheikh."
Speaking on the BBC's Today programme aviation expert Alastair Rosenschein described the incident as "quite extraordinary".
He said: "I'm not sure that I buy the fact that it was a military exercise and that a missile passed to within a 1,000ft of an aircraft that was presumably on the correct flight path on the approach to land at Sharm el-Sheikh. It most certainly does not happen. I suspect that this is not the full story."
Egypt's foreign ministry said the allegations were "preposterous" and "completely inaccurate".
A spokesman said the incident involved ground-to-ground firing at a military base a few miles from Sharm-el Sheikh airport, and that no plane was in danger.
An estimated 19,000 British nationals are thought to be stranded in the Egyptian resort after the the UK suspended all flights between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday.
Flights restarted on Friday with increased security measures but only eight of the 29 scheduled flights were able to depart. The remaining 21 were cancelled by the Egyptian authorities because of the build up of passengers and luggage.
The UK's ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, told the BBC: "We have got good co-operation now which will allow us to get people home as soon as possible. Let us remember this has always been about making sure that when people go home they go home safely."
Britons are being allowed to travel home only with hand baggage; hold luggage is to be flown back separately.
EasyJet, Monarch, Thomson, Thomas Cook and British Airways have scheduled UK-bound flights from the resort from mid-afternoon local time on Saturday.
British nationals in Sharm el-Sheikh are encouraged to check with their airline or tour operator on their travel plans.
Scheduled flights for Saturday afternoon are:
- Monarch has two flights scheduled: ZB8009 departing from Sharm El Sheikh at 13:15 (local time) arriving in Manchester 19:00 (local time); Flight ZB685 departing from at 13:45 (local time) arriving in Manchester 19:30 (local time)
- EasyJet plans to bring home 445 passengers on two flights into Luton: EZY9767 departing at 17:00 local time; EZ9320 departing at 18:00 local time
- British Airways has one flight planned to depart at 1720 (local time) heading for Gatwick
- Thomas Cook has two flights planned today: MT162P/7 departing at 1330 (local time), arriving in Gatwick at 1730 GMT; MT270P/2625 departing at 1800 (local time) arriving in Manchester at 2145 (local time)
- Thomson has two flights scheduled: TOM 895 departing at 1500 (local time), arriving Manchester at 1900 (local time); TOM 717 departing at 1530 (local time) arriving Bristol at 1920 (local time)
French aviation officials have told the BBC the crash was not caused by technical failures, and other French officials said the flight data recorder suggested a "violent, sudden" explosion.
Are you due to return from Sharm el-Sheikh to the UK today? If you have any information to share with the BBC, you can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
- Whatsapp: +44 7525 900971
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