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Some airlines avoid flying over Sinai after crash

Berlin - Two of Europe's largest airlines have decided to avoid flying over the Sinai peninsula while they wait for clarity on what caused a Russian airliner carrying 224 passengers to crash in the area on Saturday.

German carrier Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have decided to avoid the area for safety reasons, spokespersons for the carriers said on Saturday.

"We took the decision to avoid the area because the situation and the reasons for the crash were not clear," a Lufthansa spokesperson said. "We will continue to avoid the area until it is clear what caused the crash."

Lufthansa has less than 10 flights a day that cross the area, she said.

"Air France confirms it has set up, as a precaution, measures to avoid flights over the zone of Sinai," the spokesperson for the carrier said.

United Arab Emirates airlines Emirates, Air Arabia and flydubai said on Sunday they were re-routing flights to avoid flying over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, where a Russian aircraft carrying 224 passengers crashed on Saturday.

The airlines said they were closely monitoring the area and the re-routing was a security precaution, according to separate emailed statements to Reuters. Re-routing usually means longer flying distance, which adds to fuel costs.

A militant group affiliated to Islamic State in Egypt, Sinai Province, said in a statement it had brought down the plane "in response to Russian air strikes that killed hundreds of Muslims on Syrian land", but Russia's Transport Minister told Interfax news agency the claim "can't be considered accurate".

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