Nearly 10,000 Brits flown home from Sharm el-Sheikh

All Thomson flights will return from Sharm el-Sheikh by November 16, the airline has said.

Five flights will leave the airport between Friday and Monday, allowing "all but a small number" of Thomson passengers to return home on the final day of their trip.

Holidaymakers have faced difficulty getting home since flights to Sharm were stopped by the UK Goverment over fears a Russian jet which crashed shortly after taking off from the Red Sea resort was brought down by a bomb.

Customers will be contacted about any changes to their return flight.

All outbound Thomson flights to Sharm remain cancelled up to November 25.

Egypt could lose around £180 million a month through lost income because of Britain and Russia's decision to suspend flights to the country, tourism minister Hesham Zaazou warned on Wednesday.

Britain and Russia halted flights to Sharm el-Sheikh amid fears that the jet which crashed shortly after taking off from the the Red Sea resort's airport on October 31 was brought down by a bomb.

A huge operation has been underway to fly holidaymakers home since the disaster, with more than 9,600 returning to Britain by Tuesday night.

More than 5,000 people had been returned to the UK from Sharm el-Sheikh by Sunday evening, the Department for Transport said.

Eight flights left the airport on Sunday, returning almost 2,000 passengers to Britain.

In total, 5,298 passengers have now flown back to the UK, the DfT said.

However, thousands of Britons are still waiting to go home. Around 20,000 British travellers were in the Red Sea resort when the Government suspended flights on Wednesday.

Hundreds of British tourists remain stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh, despite more UK-bound planes leaving Egypt on Sunday.

Some holidaymakers still face a wait of up to three days to get home.

Egyptian investigators have agreed for the first time that a bomb is the most likely cause of last weekend's Russian jet crash.

ITV News correspondent Neil Connery reports from Sharm el-Sheikh.

Airlines have scheduled eight more flights to bring holidaymakers home to Britain today.

• Thomas Cook will fly tourists back to Gatwick this afternoon
• Thomson has planes bound for Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester
• Two easyJet planes will fly into Luton
• Monarch will also operate two flights, one to Gatwick and the other to Birmingham
• British Airways also has a flight scheduled for tomorrow.

Nearly 2,000 tourists returned to airports across England yesterday aboard nine flights, along with around 1,500 on Friday.

But thousands more are still stranded in the Egyptian holiday resort and Government officials warned it is likely the increased safety measures mean many will have to stay in the country for a while longer.

Russia has evacuated 11,000 tourists from Sharm el-Sheikh in the last 24 hours, according to Deputy Prime Ninister Arkady Dvorkovich.

More Russian holidaymakers are expected to be brought back on Sunday, he told the Russian Information Agency (RIA).

Around 80,000 Russians were stranded in Egypt after the Kremlin had grounded all flights to the country on Friday following the crash of a Russian airliner in the Sinai Peninsula.

Britons unable to fly home from Sharm el-Sheikh have spoken of their growing frustration at being stuck in Egypt.

Several holidaymakers told ITV News that many people were starting to panic and the novelty of having a few extra days by the pool had quickly worn off.

Nine flights are expected to leave Sharm for the UK on Saturday, but it is nowhere near enough to meet the demand.

Officials have said they hope to get all the British tourists home within 10 days.

A British tourist stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh has filmed her failed bid to leave Egypt.

Londoner Bryony Harris recorded a video diary for ITV News showing huge crowds at Sharm airport and scenes of despair as people discovered they would have to stay for another night.

Ms Harris said British embassy representatives were being helpful with providing information but she had heard very little from airline Monarch.

"I guess we're just going to have to see what happens tomorrow," she said once back at the hotel.