Passengers charged £300 a seat to be evacuated out of Cairo
 

I was listening to the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2 yesterday and he was interviewing George Galloway on the present situation in Egypt and one of the comments raised was the Govt were charging £300 a seat to fly back to the UK. Is this Govt so desperate to raise money that they will do anything to get it? I'm truly appalled by this. I guess if they have to evacuate from SSH they will make a fortune from some people.

I would love to know which carrier it was that they used.

Nobody forces you to go abroad you make your own decision and presumably do some research before going. That the government is assisting British nationals well done that they should recuperate the costs again well done Why should taxpayers fork out just because somebody's holiday got curtailed. This is not new back when Turkey invaded Cyprus and British citizens were in some cases literally picked up from the beaches the repatriation costs were recovered.

I have twice been unfortunate to be caught in military coups in far more inhospitable countries than Egypt. I knew and accepted the risks when going and didn't try to sue anybody and anything for compensation on my eventual safe return.

If £300 represents the cost to the government of that seat, then I see no reason why the person who occupies it should not pay for it. Evacuation of government employees working in Egypt is a different story, but people who chose to go there must accept the potential downside.

Last minute charter of aircraft to pick up people, extra costs due to the circumstances, No scratch cards, hire cars, package deals to hide the true cost of the flight so £300 is about right. Decent travel insurance should cover your costs.

Bear in mind that the government is suggesting that carriers don`t fly people there so it would of been a charter

People forget that is cost money to fly aircraft. LOCO`s offset this cost with other items to give you a low ticket price but the costs are still the same its just that its covered by other travel related items.

£300 is a small price to pay for your own safety and a bit of peace of mind. Why should someone else have to pick up the tab for it.

I'm just wondering though, how many of the "bucket and spade, tracksuit brigade" thought about buying travel insurance?

Would that by any chance have been George Muhammad G'allah'weh, North Africa's best friend? I'm surprised he's not in Cairo right now!!!

Very sensible. Whilst unfortunate for the individuals - that's life. As the adverts say, people turn up at British Consulates all over the world saying "I've had my wallet stolen - can I have some money?"

If the OP was not due to leave the benighted country for another week but got to the airport and found that they could pay £300 and get out NOW? Fair deal, wait a week to see what happens or pay now.

No issue to discuss here.

There has been a hue and cry in India also about Air India charging $1000 per seat to evacuate and asking people who do not have the resources to give an undertaking. After much shouting and screaming about day light robbery, the minister in charge clarified as under

1) This is not termed as an evacuation as during the gulf war which the Indian govt footed the bill.
2) The tourists and people in Egypt from India requested from the embassy to organize a charter that they would pay for to assist them to get out.
3) The consulate in a matter of 24 hours organized an aircraft to fly empty to Cairo and bring passengers back and do this loop multiple times till all were evacuated.
4) Many did not have papers as they could not go back to the hotel or for other reasons so the consulate set up a desk at the airport to assist with this.
5) There were minimal or no services at Cairo airport and the crew agreed to overlook their flight time restrictions for this carrying extra fuel and food from Bombay.

A 747-400 is being used for this purpose. Average load is about 280 pax so far

I am assuming therefore a $1000 is a fair charge to cover all these expenses.

I am also assuming similar maths is being done by other carriers and therefore do not feel anyone is making a killing doing this. In the same token do not expect a free lunch. :ok:

£300.00 to sleep soundly in a UK bed, safe from the rioters & the noise of guns being fired.

BARGAIN!:ok:

Since the crews of these aircraft are surely indefatigable, the price is a small item.

I think Wannabe Flyer gets it right in one sentence, when he says:

In other words, it's not just about people "choosing" to go there, it is mostly about people choosing to run away from there like scared rabbit. After all, nobody asks for an "evacuation" when demonstrations get interesting in France, so if people decide to overreact it's their problem after all.

On the other hand, there might be those who find it impossible in the current situation to go ahead with their plans (holiday, business, whatever it might have been) and therefore no longer have any reason to stay in the country. If regular flights back home are fully booked or unaffordable, it is a very nice gesture for the Government to organise charter flights at a reasonable cost, so if anything that's something to be welcomed.

Mind you, I haven't read the news today yet, so for all I know the **** may have hit it big time :uhoh: I'll go check Google News--wonder if I'm going to have to eat my words now :ouch:

If you don't get stabbed by a chav on the way home, that is :E

EGBE0523,

Please do me a favour and let me know where you're planning your holiday this year, there's a good chap...

I won't be on the flight... :eek: :p

LH2

Anyone who knows the middle east recognises that it can go from apparently stable to tinder box to all out fire in a day or two.

If I was in Egypt, I would be making tracks out of there, toute de suite.

Nothing to do with being a scared rabbit, more like wishing to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

British Government weren't the only ones charging , Canadian goverment was to.

Doesn't seem unreasonable to me . I've moved to Canada by my own choice , if things go tits up here ( I know , how likely is that?)why should the UK pay to bail me out.

Muppetbum
 

You might get invaded by the inhabitants of St Pierre & Miquelon!

He's been thrown out of Egypt because of his connections with Gaza I believe and therefore barred from the Country

Wannabe Flyer hits the nail squarely on the head when, with reference to the Indian government charters he says:

Same would apply to the British operation. So no revenue from the outbound sector, all revenue coming from the inbound. £150 would be a very cheap fare for a four hour flight. £300 is thus very reasonable given the one way load.

Cairo Special UK Flight
 

For those interested the aircraft is a B757 of Astreaus a British charter airline and you might have Bruce Davidson (he of Iron Maiden fame) in the front.

Bruce Dickinson, you mean ;)