CAIRO (DPA) – British Airways has notified Egyptian aviation authorities that the airline will resume its Cairo flights on Friday (July 26) after a week-long halt, sources at Cairo airport said.

On Saturday, British Airways abruptly suspended all flights to and from Cairo for seven days, citing unspecified security concerns.

Egypt expressed dismay over the move and defended security at its airports.

The airline’s first flight to the Egyptian capital after the resumption of the service will arrive from London at 11pm on Friday, a source at the Cairo airport said.

“British Airways has not informed us of any remarks about security measures in place at Cairo airport,” the source added on condition of anonymity.

The airline on Thursday confirmed the resumption of the Cairo service.

“Following a thorough assessment of the security arrangements, we are pleased that our service to and from Cairo will resume from Friday July 26,” the airline told dpa in London.

“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so,” it added without details.

The airline’s flight suspension had raised concerns in Egypt over potential harm to the country’s vital tourism industry, which has recently been recovering after a years-long slump.

Egypt’s tourism industry suffered a blow in 2015 when a bomb exploded on a Russian passenger jet shortly after take-off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.

The bombing, which was claimed by the Islamic State in Ieaq and Syria terrorist organisation, prompted multiple countries to cancel flights to the famous Red Sea resort.

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