British Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said on Thursday Britain hoped flights back to the UK from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh could resume on Friday.

"We do not expect flights to leave today but we do hope to have flights leaving tomorrow," McLoughlin told parliament.

Britain suspended all flights home from the Red Sea resort on Wednesday, stranding thousands of tourists, after saying there was a significant possibility that an explosive device brought down a Russian airliner that crashed killing 224 people in the Sinai Peninsula last week. 

Egypt said on Thursday Britain suspended flights from Sharm al-Sheikh airport without consultation, despite close contacts between the two countries and tighter security measures.

"The British decision was taken unilaterally and there were no consultations with Egypt over it despite the high-level contacts that took place between the two countries hours before," the foreign ministry said in a statement on state news agency Mena.

Egypt had responded positively to British concerns and tightened security at Sharm El-Sheikh airport following Saturday's crash of a Russian plane though there were no conclusive indications about the cause of the disaster, the statement said.- Reuters