Russian Plane That Went Down, More Than Likely A Bombing

From the Daily Telegraph:

David Cameron says crash ‘more likely than not’ caused by bomb as No10 sends RAF to rescue up to 20,000 Britons stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh after cancelling all flights 

– Boeing 737s may be banned in Russia, in a bizarre ruling by aviation regulators that may or may not be linked to the Metrojet Airbus crash. The Interstate Aviation Committee, which regulates aviation in the former Soviet Union, has written to Russia’s civil aviation authority (Rosaviatsia) saying it is withdrawing airworthiness licenses for Boeing 737s because of unspecified safety concerns. 

– Easyjet have written an email to passengers waiting to get a flight back to the UK tomorrow from Sharm which instructs them not to bring any cabin luggage. It says: “Unfortunately due to the circumstances no checked baggage will be taken onto the flight, this will follow on to your destination airport at a later date. Hand luggage is still permitted under usual regulations.” This may indicate the UK thinks the crash was caused by a bomb in the luggage compartment. 

– Raf Sanchez, at Sharm El-Sheikh airport, writes: Staff at the airport say they have never seen security like this. There is a long queue of cars and coaches that snakes out of the airport onto the road as security checks the passports of passengers and looks under the cars with mirrors for bombs. 

Inside the terminal, members of staff are having to take off their shoes and go through metal detectors before being patted down. Before the Metrojet crash staff were waved through. 

That may hint at suspicions that ISIL had an infiltrator among staff at the airport. 

Passengers are also removing shoes and belts, which staff say is new. Before people were allowed to walk to through the metal detectors with shoes on. Security guards also appear to be paying close attention to the X-ray machines rather than listlessly watching the screens.