Russian inspectors head to Egypt as passengers wait to leave

CAIRO – International passengers departing Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh continued to line up for flights on Sunday, as the first of three teams of Russian inspectors was dispatched to the country to examine airport security following last weekend’s airline disaster.

READ MORE: Airport where Russian plane left and later crashed reveals porous security

The Russian flight’s crash in the Sinai Peninsula that killed all 224 people onboard continues to generate fallout, after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for its downing and U.S. and British officials say intelligence shows it was likely brought down by a bomb on board.

WATCH ABOVE:  Investigator of Russian plane crash: ‘Team is 90 per cent sure sound on recording was bomb’

Britain and several airlines have stopped normally scheduled flights to the resort, while Russia has suspended all travel to Egypt because of security concerns.

WATCH ABOVE: Russian holidaymakers flying home from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh continued to arrive in Moscow on Sunday.

Russian authorities did not give details on what specific security issues the inspections teams would be examining.

Egyptian authorities have bristled at the allegations of lax airport security, with some blaming an anti-Egypt bias in the foreign media. Those sensitivities were on display Sunday as foreign camera crews were prevented from filming inside the Sharm el-Sheikh airport, along the city’s main tourist strip in Naama Bay, or in other public spaces.

READ MORE: Noise heard in last second of cockpit recording from Russian plane

Meanwhile, The Mideast’s biggest airline — Emirates — said it was reviewing its security procedures in Egypt, but remains committed to maintaining flights to Egypt, calling it “an enormously important market.”

In Russia, more than a thousand mourners packed into the landmark St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg for a memorial service for the victims. Attendees lit candles and stood in silence as the cathedral bells rang 224 times to remember each victim.

“We came to the service today with all our family to support the people in our common grief,” said Galina Stepanova, 58. “My four-year-old grandson lit two candles to remember the people who died in the crash.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We came to the service today with all our family to support the people in our common grief," said Galina Stepanova, 58. "My four-year-old grandson lit two candles to remember the people who died in the crash."

Stepanova said she believed that the plane was downed by a bomb, but said that Russia should continue its airstrike campaign against the Islamic State group and other rebel factions in Syria.

READ MORE: Russia suspends flights to Egypt until airport security improves

“We have a rightful cause to help Syria in its fight against terrorism,” she said.

Mikhail Vishnyakov, a 42-year-old sales manager who attended the service with his family, said he did not want to rush to conclusions about the cause of the plane crash until the investigation was complete.

“If it was a terrorist act, I don’t think it was directed exactly against Russia. It could well be directed against any other plane of any other country. It was for a good reason that other countries began to take their tourists from Egypt,” Vishnyakov said.

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Associated Press writer Irina Titova in St. Petersburg, Russia contributed to this report.