Earlier this month the airline had said it would be cancelling flights until January 6.

However the carrier said it had taken the decision to extend this even further after the British Foreign Office and the Department for Transport said it would be maintaining its advice, warning customers against all but essential air travel to the Red Sea airport.

Monarch said the move would allow our customers to make alternative holiday plans as soon as possible.

Customers who are affected by these cancellations are entitled to change a booking to a later date or rebook to another destination on the Monarch network. Customers can also request a credit note towards future travel or a refund.

It comes as Egyptian authorities yesterday insisted they had yet to find evidence that the Russian charter jet which crashed in the Sinai in October, was brought down by a bomb.

The head of the Egyptian committee investigating the crash, Ayman al-Muqaddim, was quoted by state TV on Monday as saying there was "no evidence that there is an act of terror or illegal intervention".

However the UK, US and Russia have all said they believe the flight was brought down by a bomb. Russian authorities also revealed earlier this month that it had found "traces of foreign explosives" on the debris.

All 224 people onboard the aircraft were killed when it came down on October 30.