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Some airlines are avoiding flying over Egypt following a plane crash that killed 224 people.

In breaking news tonight, a top airline official at Metrojet has said ‘no technical fault’ could be the cause of the jet to break up in the air over Egypt killing 224 people. 

ISIS-affiliated militants quickly claimed responsibility for bringing down the Russian Metrojet charter flight, which was en route to St. Petersburg.

Alexander Smirov, Metrojet’s deputy general director, told reporters in Moscow the chartered Airbus A321-200 lost speed right before the crash in a mountainous area of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

He said the cause “could only have been a mechanical impact on the plane” in the air.

For some, flying is terrifying at the best of times, let alone just after a deadly plane crash….

Airlines have been warned against flying over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula following the devastating crash of a commercial flight, which killed all 224 crew and passengers on board.

Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/world/2015/11/02/21/45/metrojet-says-technical-fault-not-behind-deadly-crash-over-egypt#L0lOyI86tWGeTjqP.99but Egyptian and Russian officials dismissed the claim, saying it was too early to determine what caused the fatal incident.

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But, the terrorist claims have left many travellers uneasy – especially those travelling to, or around, Europe in the coming days – and a number of airlines have changed their flight paths. Here’s the latest from the biggest airlines: Qatar Airways is re-routing flights “out of an abundance of caution” until further information about the crash is revealed. Lufthansa is not currently flying over Sinai until there are more details.  

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Etihad Airways will continue flying over most of the Sinai Peninsula, saying there is “no evidence to suggest any ulterior motive in the tragic crash”, thought it will be avoiding “certain areas” over the peninsula, according to ABC News.

Air France is not currently flying over Sinai until there are more details.

EasyJet is operating as usual, but a spokesman said its planes “like other UK airlines does not fly over northern and central Sinai, the area of the incident”, The Guardian reports. The airline is offering either an alternative flight or voucher for passengers who no longer wished to fly.

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British Airways is operating as usual. A spokesperson said: “We do not discuss the details of individual routes but we would not fly a route unless it was safe to do. The safety of our customers is always the number one priority.”

Emirates (and its subsidiary flydubai) is not currently flying over Sinai until there are more details.

Virgin Atlantic is operating as usual.

A Qantas spokesperson told Mamamia the airline does not fly over the Sinai Peninsula.

Video via Sky News