British visitors to Egypt are being offered an emergency flight out of the country by the Foreign Office as the political situation deteriorates.

A charter aircraft will depart from Cairo Airport on Thursday, with 200 seats on offer. Each is priced at £300.

However, those with existing tickets have been urged not to cancel reservations.

In a statement the Foreign Office described the situation as “fluid”, with up to 100,000 demonstrators taking to the streets of the capital.

Incumbent president Mubarak has responded with a promise of a more inclusive government, but the offer appears to have fallen upon deaf ears among protestors.

As many as 100 people have been killed in unrest over the last eight days. However, the army has publicly stated it will not use violence against the people.

Sharm-el-Sheikh

The vast majority of the British visitors to the country are located in Sharm-el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsular.

Travel advice from the Foreign Office maintained the area was “calm” early today, with tour operators continuing to sell trips to the popular resort.

TUI earlier insisted the area was safe for visitors.

A spokeswoman for Thomson and First Choice Holidays supported this position: “Sharm-el-Sheikh kind of acts as its own country because of it being on the Sinai Peninsula and the agreement the Egyptians have with the Israelis, it is very much kept as a separate entity in itself

“Therefore, we feel that travel to Sharm el-Sheikh at the moment is perfectly safe.

“We have had reports from our resort staff on the ground saying that it is very much business as usual.”

International Response

India and the United States have already offered emergency charter aircraft to passengers, while Germany has warned against travel to the whole country – including Sharm-el-Sheikh.

Conservative MP also called on Briton to step up its response to the developing crisis.

“If we pretend that things are going to improve in Egypt, we are wrong,” he told ITV Daybreak.

“We must get our people out.

“Other nations have done that already. If we do not then - excuse the pun - our nationals become a hostage to fortune, literally.”