Irish tourist describes situation in ‘eerie’ Sharm El-Sheikh

An Irish man currently in Sharm El-Sheikh has described "crazy" scenes at the resort as foreign visitors scramble to secure passage home.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Gerry Gilroy (52) from Leitrim said the city has developed an "eerie" feel as tens of thousands of European tourists continue their mass exodus in the wake of last weekend's crash of a Russian plane which killed 224 people.

Mr Gilroy explained that the hotel he is staying in only has around 30 guests out of a maximum occupancy of 500, and said "tempers are fraying" among irate foreigners who are being bussed between hotels amid a raft of flight cancellations.

Speculation has mounted that an explosion caused by a bomb in the cargo hold brought down the Airbus A321 over the Sinai desert. An Egyptian affiliate of the ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the crash, and aviation authorities across Ireland, Britain and Russia have since suspended flights to Sharm El-Sheikh.

“The holidaymakers are just peeved off with situation. You’re in one hotel then you’re told you’re not flying out, you’re put up in another hotel and some people have been at the airport now for two days and their holidays have been cut short,” said Mr Gilroy, who is a regular visitor to the area.

“The tempers are fraying, not with the Egyptians but more among the tourists... It’s dreadful, the taxi drivers don’t know what’s happening. It’s one thing there being no British here, but without the Russians it’s dead on its feet,” he added.

He said holidaymakers have been kept informed since last Saturday’s events through local and international media, but added there is a general air of confusion and bemusement among local business owners who do not have a full picture of the unfolding situation given the Egyptian state’s avoidance of any mention of a bomb until clear evidence is unearthed.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said this week at least 179 Irish citizens remain in Egypt, however, Mr Gilroy said he only registered his presence in the country on Friday.

He said he hasn't seen many Irish people, but did meet a number who flew from England and are looking to return over the coming days once they can get flights sorted. He also said some English friends said they may opt to travel the 500 kilometre journey to Cairo by road in order to catch a plane.

The IT worker has been in the Sinai region for the last week, and says he feels "completely safe" and will stay for a further 9 or 10 days before attempting to fly home via Istanbul.

Mr Gilroy was also in Sharm El-Sheikh two years ago when a series of riots broke out across Cairo, and said the area’s hospitality industry had only begun to mount a significant recovery from that event when this latest incident occurred.