A local woman who was due to fly home from Sharm el-Sheikh today has said she is “absolutely gutted” that she is stranded in Egypt.

All flights there and back have been stopped amid government security concerns after last week’s Russian jet crash which killed all 224 people on board. .

The 20-year-old flew from Stansted airport at the beginning of July and has been living and working in Egypt for the last four months.

“I was due to fly back to Stansted and return home today,” she said. “I’m absolutely gutted by the news because all I want to do is be at home with my family.

“They just want me home safe as soon as possible.”

However, she said: “I still feel safe here in the resort as it’s not the security in Sharm they are worried about, it’s just the airport.

“I found out my flights were cancelled by watching the news. I was actually packing my suitcase to come home at the time.”

The woman does not yet know when she will be able to fly home but says she is going to spend the extra time “trying to soak up the sun to keep my mind off things.”

She added that the atmosphere at the resort is fine and that “people are very calm.”

The woman’s mum said: “I’ve waited 17 weeks for my daughter to be home. All I want is her home safe where she belongs.”

The Foreign Office says it is working to resume flights between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, after they were suspended amid security fears.

A BBC report said: “All flights were grounded, stranding thousands of Britons, after intelligence suggested a bomb may have caused a Russian jet to crash killing all 224 people on board.

The UK is helping with security and it is hoped flights will resume on Friday.

About 20,000 Britons are said to be in the resort, including 1,000 residents.

The decision to suspend flights came as the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, arrived in the UK for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron.”