Egypt launches investigation into airport ground crew

Egyptian airport and security officials have launched an investigation into any local staff and ground crew at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport who came into contact with the downed Russian Metrojet flight that killed all 224 on board.

The officials told The Associated Press on Saturday that authorities are questioning airport staff and have begun surveillance on those who worked on the Russian flight that crashed a week ago in the Sinai desert, 23 minutes after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh, a Red Sea resort.

Russia is meanwhile working to bring home about 79,000 of its citizens who have been stranded in Egypt, mainly in Sharm el-Sheikh and the resort of Hurghada, since Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday halted all flights to Egypt.

Britain hopes to return all stranded British tourists from Sharm al-Sheikh within 10 days, a British official at the Egyptian Red Sea resort said Saturday. The British government is increasing the number of flights to bring tourists home and will return about 2,000 British nationals on Saturday on nine flights, the official added.

Russia's cancellation of flights to Egypt came amid growing speculation that an onboard bomb downed the Russia carrier Metrojet's Airbus A321-200.

The U.K. had halted flgihts to Sharm el-Sheikh earlier in the week. And, Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday that it was “more likely than not” that the Russian airliner crash was caused by a “terrorist bomb.”

But Russian and Egyptian officials at that time bristled at statements linking the crash to a bomb, saying it was too soon to tell the cause. On Friday, Russian intelligence chief Alexander Bortnikov said it was "reasonable" to halt the flights. Neither he nor Putin offered the timeline for the suspension or the repatriation.

The move will affect tens of thousands of Russians and is expected to have a devastating effect on Egyptian tourism. 

Putin had also ordered the government to open talks with Egyptian authorities to guarantee the safety of flights, said Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman.

Peskov also told reporters on Friday "it definitely doesn't mean that" Russia now views terrorism as the main theory behind the Metrojet plane crash. Peskov says the flight suspension will last as long as it takes Egyptian aviation authorities to put "a proper level of security" into place.

A Sinai-based group affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has claimed responsibility for the crash. If confirmed, it would make it the organization's first attack on civil aviation. Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el Sisi has dismissed the claims as "propaganda."

Before Friday, the Kremlin had said firmly it was too early to say what caused the crash and that all theories, including the possibility of technical failure, should be examined by the official investigation.

James Stavridis, former NATO supreme allied commander, told Al Jazeera on Friday that although he accepts ISIL's claim of responsibility, it is unlikely that the plane was targeted by fighters on the ground. 

"I think I said about a week ago, immediately in the aftermath, that it was very unlikely to have been a surface-to-air missile. It looked like an explosion," Stavridis said. 

Ireland has also suspended regular flights to Sharm el-Sheikh amid growing concerns over what caused the plane crash and the level of security at the resort's airport. Egypt is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Europeans and any decision to suspend flights would cause major logistical problems for airlines and stranded tourists. 

Al Jazeera and wire services