BA halts flight amidst heightened risks of aviation terrorism

British Airways suspended all flights to Cairo for seven days to “allow for further assessment,” with the U.K. government maintaining a warning about threats to aviation in Egypt.

The U.K. carrier said it reviews security arrangements at all its airports and has stopped flights to the city as a precaution. “We would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so,” the company said in a statement Saturday.

Lufthansa canceled two flights to Cairo on Saturday for security reasons, a spokesman told Bloomberg. However, the German carrier resumed all services on Sunday.

Egyptian authorities downplayed any possible threats. There was “no reason” for the temporary suspensions and the country met “the highest international security standards,” Sameh El Hefny, head of the Egyptian civil aviation authority said in a statement. The country would add more flights to Cairo to help offset the cancellations, according to a statement on the ministry of aviation’s Facebook page.

The U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a standing warning about heightened risks of aviation terrorism in Egypt. Additional security measures are in place for flights from Egypt to Britain, according to the website‎. The government advised against any travel to North Sinai, and all but the most essential travel to most areas in South Sinai, a popular tourist destination.‎