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London:
A British tourist plane heading in to land at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh came within 1,000 feet (300 metres) of a missile in August, it was reported Saturday.
The incident, reported by the Daily Mail newspaper, involved a Thomson Airways plane carrying 189 passengers from London on August 23.
British authorities concluded that the incident was probably linked to Egyptian military exercises nearby while the airline's owners said it was likely to have been a flare, not a missile.
The incident happened around two months before a Russian tourist plane leaving the Red Sea resort came down over the Sinai Peninsula last Saturday, killing all 224 people onboard.
A spokesman for Britain's Department for Transport said of the August near-miss: "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."
A spokesman for TUI Group, which owns Thomson Airways, added: "Their (the department's) view also at the time was that it was probably a flare.
"As a result, there was no cause for concern. It was safe for Thomson Airways to continue its flying programme to Sharm el-Sheikh."
The Daily Mail said the Thomson Airways pilot took evasive action and landed safely. Holidaymakers were not told about the incident.
Britain suspended flights to the popular resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday after saying it feared a bomb may have brought down the Russian jet, with Moscow following suit on Friday.
Restrictions have now been lifted but there is now a backlog of holidaymakers waiting to come back to Britain on airlines including Thomson.
The incident, reported by the Daily Mail newspaper, involved a Thomson Airways plane carrying 189 passengers from London on August 23.
British authorities concluded that the incident was probably linked to Egyptian military exercises nearby while the airline's owners said it was likely to have been a flare, not a missile.
The incident happened around two months before a Russian tourist plane leaving the Red Sea resort came down over the Sinai Peninsula last Saturday, killing all 224 people onboard.
A spokesman for Britain's Department for Transport said of the August near-miss: "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."
A spokesman for TUI Group, which owns Thomson Airways, added: "Their (the department's) view also at the time was that it was probably a flare.
"As a result, there was no cause for concern. It was safe for Thomson Airways to continue its flying programme to Sharm el-Sheikh."
The Daily Mail said the Thomson Airways pilot took evasive action and landed safely. Holidaymakers were not told about the incident.
Britain suspended flights to the popular resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday after saying it feared a bomb may have brought down the Russian jet, with Moscow following suit on Friday.
Restrictions have now been lifted but there is now a backlog of holidaymakers waiting to come back to Britain on airlines including Thomson.
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