Bomb blasts push FCO to change Egypt travel advice

A bomb blast on Friday in Cairo killed one policeman and wounded three others just after two suicide bombers struck in the Sinai Peninsula, an attack that killed two and wounded nine. The high threat of terrorism has forced the FCO to change its travel advice.

Terrorism is a serious threat in Egypt right now so travellers should be aware of the risks before booking flights to Cairo and elsewhere in the country. According to the FCO, there were bomb blasts in El Tor (At Tur) in South Sinai and Heliopolis in Cairo on May 2nd, 2014. Reports indicate that they targeted police checkpoints and a passenger bus on the road South of El Tor, as described in the intro to this post. There were a number of deaths and injuries which lead the FCO to update its travel advice.

Current FCO travel advice for Egypt

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all travel to:

the Governorate of North Sinai due to the significant increase in criminal activity and recent terrorist attacks on police and security forces that have resulted in deaths

The FCO advise against all but essential travel to:

the Governorates of Beni Suef, Minya, Asyut and Sohag
the Governorate of South Sinai, with the exception of the area within the Sharm el Sheikh perimeter barrier, which includes the airport and the areas of Sharm el Maya, Hadaba, Naama Bay, Sharks Bay and Nabq

This travel advice was current at the time of writing, May 6th, 2014 and travellers planning a trip to Egypt should visit gov.uk for the latest travel advice on Egypt before departing. It may also be useful to check out our previous post, Egypt: how safe is it? for more information on how to cancel trips and flights.