The airline had been due to resume flights to the Red Sea resort on October 30, the start of the winter season, but has now pushed this back to February 9 next year.

Monarch said it was still taking bookings from February 10 until the end of April but warned it would “review this in the coming weeks, subject to UK government advice”.

Airlines halted flights to Sharm last November following the bombing of a Russian charter flight. The bomb is thought to have been placed by an airport worker.

Monarch said it would give customers who have already booked the chance to rebook to an alternative Monarch destination free of charge, or obtain a full refund.

Monarch group chief executive Andrew Swaffield said: “I am disappointed that again we have had to cancel bookings to Sharm el Sheikh. Much hard work has been done by the UK and Egyptian governments, along with the travel industry, to improve safety measures at Sharm el Sheikh airport and we hope to be able to reopen this important holiday market by February.”

Prior to the closure of the airport, roughly 700,000 Britons visited Sharm every year and its absence from tour operator programmes has meant alternative winter destinations, like Tenerife, have seen a big increase in UK demand.