How we were evacuated from Sharm

24 March 2020 Travel time: with 08 March 2020 on 17 March 2020
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The term of our stay at the Novotel hotel ended on March 15, the return flight was at 17.40 from Sharm on the same day, the tour operator is the well-known Joint Up.

So, chronologically.

After the announcement of the suspension of flights from Ukraine from March 17 on the evening of March 13, one plane did not fly to Sharm, therefore, tourists remained. The next morning the lists of those leaving were taken down from the board and there was a pause. On the beach, attention was drawn to the unusual silence for this place - there were only two planes before lunch, although planes usually come in for landing every 15 minutes. Those who checked in early in the morning were unlucky - they had to sit at the reception until late in the evening, although some went to the beach, food was left for them.


On March 15, the lists of those leaving were no longer posted, the guide said that no one would be taken out at all until lunchtime and that you had to approach him every two hours, because. the situation may change. There are even fewer planes flying over the beach. At 10.00 we sent a messenger, there was no information, we approached at lunchtime - again nothing, although the senior manager who arrived mentioned that most likely we would be taken away on Tuesday, March 17.

On the same day, we received an SMS from Join that everyone is staying in their hotels and rooms with service according to the voucher at the expense of the tour operator.

March 16, after lunch, we were notified about moving to another hotel. Without describing unnecessary details - hotels of the same star rating and similar service. The principle is simple: who did not leave on the 14th - to the Blue Bay Oasis, on March 15th - to Rehana, and on March 13th - I don’t remember the names, because there were few such friends unfortunately. They settled everyone promptly, after dinner they waited for the guide and found on the online board of Join 19 flights only to Kyiv, and there were also Kharkiv, Lviv, Zaporozhye on March 17th. It became clear that we would fly away, the sequence was unknown. By 10 pm, everyone received messages from their travel agencies about the flight and departure time.

And then everything was organized very clearly, without delays and fuss. Before lunch, we explored the territory of the new hotel, went to the beach, admired the low tide and the exposed reef, and checked out the room before 12.00. The bracelets were cut off for us immediately at the reception and the bar became paid (I suspect that the prices were slightly increased that day). But again, Join took care of us - those who flew away after lunch (including us) received coupons for lunch.


At the airport, everything went very quickly, there was no long queue for boarding passes. I noticed that migration cards were issued along with boarding passes and the flight number was on the cards - double control over the number of people registered for the flight. Join's representative was present in the registration hall. Later I learned that on that day a Ukrainian consul flew to Sharm to promptly resolve emerging issues. We were not photographed again, hand luggage was checked, special analyzers checked for the presence of explosives in it. And everywhere airport workers wished us a happy journey and invited us to come again.

When we went down to the waiting room, my heart was happy - we saw 4 planes from Join, landing was announced more than an hour before departure. In Kyiv, after landing, two large cars drove up to the plane, the representatives who got out of them quickly measured the temperature of everyone, promptly handed out the luggage - and then everyone went home

Conclusions from the experienced situation:

  • The worst thing is uncertainty, which breeds panic. To the credit of our tourists, none of those around us panicked, but we observed a lot of recklessly sunbathing, swimming and eating.
  • not to lose optimism for a second, although when mobile communications disappeared throughout Sharm on March 15, even I began to worry a little, but not for myself, but for my family - we knew that everything was fine with us, but they – no.
  • hotel guides did not have more information than any more or less experienced Internet user, therefore, when you see a new representative of the tour operator in the hotel, immediately contact him, suddenly you hear something new (it happened with us).
  • don't be lazy to look at the online scoreboard of the airport and Join, several times a day.
  • the main thing is to check with the hotel guide if you are on the list of tourists in general. For example, we were not on the lists for relocation to another hotel. Two couples were not on the flight lists, the manager from Join again appeared and sent them to the airport, where other managers helped them deal with the problem.
  • Don't be shy to make new acquaintances from fellow countrymen (and not only) at the hotel - in such a situation it is important to support each other even with a kind word or a joke.
  • And the last thing: after all the criticism against Join, we were pleasantly surprised by the prompt organization of our evacuation and its escort, unlike some tour operators who did not even notify their tourists about their prospects. Anex, for example, on March 15 still brought new tourists to rest.


    And most importantly, no matter what cataclysms you have to endure, keep traveling, including to Egypt, which is beautiful at any time of the year, in any weather, and even in a storm that happens to them once in many decades.

    Waiting for Join's plane

    Translated automatically from Russian. View original
    To add or remove photos in a story, go to album of this story
    ждём самолёт Джоина
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