Baggage scanners at the airport where the Russian plane that crashed in Egypt took off were frequently broken, and management at the entrance to the catering and fueling areas for planes was lax.

Security personnel at Sharm el-Sheikh airport check the passport of a Russian tourist yesterday. Photo: AP

Sharm el-Sheikh Airport became the center of attention last week when a Russian plane that took off from there on October 31 crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board, according to AP.

British and American intelligence agencies had previously expressed suspicion that someone with access to the Russian plane's luggage compartment had planted the bomb. The information was revealed after a joint British-American intelligence operation using satellites detected electronic communications between IS militants in Syria and Egypt. The tone and content of the messages convinced analysts that the bomb was placed on board by a passenger or airport ground staff.

Seven security officials at Sharm el-Sheikh airport, some of whom have worked there for more than a decade, said the problems were serious. For example, the baggage scanners kept malfunctioning. The problem had been reported to higher-ups but had not been replaced.

Another added that bribing the police officers who operate the X-ray machines is also a common practice. "I can't tell you how many times I've seen bags full of drugs or weapons that they let through just to get a 10 euro bribe," he said.

Airport security officials all confirmed that the 10-year-old CTX scanner at the checked baggage screening area had broken down. One said the failure was due to “human stupidity” rather than a technical fault.

“I've seen people unplug it to save electricity,” he said.

However, when international experts came to inspect the scanner, it worked very well, another person asserted.

"We only care about superficial things," he said. "When they hear that someone is coming to visit, suddenly everything is fine. We wish there were visits like that every day."

Others said that the broken scanner "is not very important" because when it is working properly, it is only used to check some luggage samples, not all.

In addition, the management at the entrance to the food and fuel areas for aircraft is also not concerned. Accordingly, local hotels that provide food for some flights can directly transport it to the aircraft without having to go through any inspection.

Guards at the entrance often let these shipments through easily simply because they know the shipping staff. Occasionally, guards are bribed with a meal or two to let trucks in and out without inspection to save time.

“Nobody goes around searching their friends or their friends,” said one official. “That would be rude.”

Magdy Salim, a retired senior official at Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism, confirmed the situation, adding that people with fancy or cute-looking cars often avoid inspection.

“Egypt’s airport security procedures are almost universally deplorable” and are severely affected by “inadequacies,” Mr Salim stressed.

Hypotheses about the cause of the Russian plane crash in Egypt. Graphics: Viet Chung

According to VNE