REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CAIRO -- Egypt's civil aviation ministry denied reports that authorities had stopped British airlines from flying into Sharm al-Sheikh airport on Friday to bring home stranded tourists, saying that flights were limited by the airport's capacity.

Airline easyJet had earlier said Egyptian authorities suspended British airlines from flying into Sharm al-Sheikh, preventing the tourists from leaving the resort.

"The British airline wants to schedule 18 flights at the same time and wants to transport British passengers from Sharm al-Sheikh without their luggage, which we would have to transport later," Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal said.

"This constitutes a huge burden on the airport because its capacity does not allow for that. We have asked them to organise eight flights only and one plane will transport luggage."

British ambassador to Egypt John Casson echoed Kamal's comments about the scale of the operation and said progress was being made in transporting tourists back.

"Flights are coming in which will allow us to take more people home today," Casson said in Sharm al-Sheikh.

As he spoke, he said the first two flights to Britain had already boarded and were due to take 180 passengers each.

"There are just some challenging logistical issues involved in making sure that flights can leave and arrive in a busy airport in line with international regulation in a way that is safe. We are working through these issues."

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