A Thomson Airways aircraft with 189 passengers aboard came “within 1,000ft” of a rocket as it approached Sharm El Sheikh, it has emerged.
According to the Daily Mail the Thomson flight from London Stansted “only took evasive action after the pilot spotted the missile.”
The Boeing 757 landed safely, and passengers were not told they had been seconds from disaster.
The Daily Mail adds that the revelation comes amid claims, reported by the Sun, British jihadists had spoken about an Islamic State ‘mole’ at Sharm el-Sheikh airport minutes after a Metrojet plane crashed in Sinai, killing all 224 on board.
According to the Sun, British extremists were discussing details of the plot in online chatter picked up by US intelligence officers. Sources told the newspaper there was suggestion there might still be an Islamic State agent active in Sharm el-Sheikh airport.
The Daily Mail reported that UK Department for Transport confirmed the Thomson near-miss incident took place on August 23 – just two months before the Metrojet plane crash.
Thomson initially declined to comment to the Daily Mail but later said: “Thomson Airways can confirm that an event was reported by the crew of flight TOM 476 on 23rd August 2015.”
“Upon landing into Sharm el-Sheikh, an initial assessment was conducted and the event was immediately reported to the UK Department for Transport (DfT) in line with established protocol.”
“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.”
A UK government spokesman said: “We investigated the reported incident at the time and concluded that it was not a targeted attack and was likely to be connected to routine exercises being conducted by the Egyptian military in the area at the time.”
In July, the Foreign Office warned British tourists of a “high threat” from terrorism and advised against travelling to northern Sinai.
