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 fuel 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 here on October 31 crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board, according to AP.

Previously, British and American intelligence expressed suspicion that someone with access to the luggage compartment of the Russian plane 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 superiors but had not been replaced.

Another added that bribing the police officers who operate the X-ray machines is also common. "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 baggage screening area had broken down. One said the failure was due to “human stupidity” rather than a mechanical 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 someone is coming, suddenly everything is back to normal. We wish we could have visits like that every day."

Others said that the broken scanner "is not very important" because when it is working properly, people only use it 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 taken care of. Accordingly, local hotels that provide food for some flights can directly transport it to the aircraft without having to go through any inspection.

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

"Nobody searches their friends or their friends," one official said. "That's rude."

Magdy Salim, a retired senior official at Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism, confirmed the situation, adding that people with nice cars or those who looked cute were more likely to avoid inspection.

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

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

According to VNE