Working in Sharm El Sheikh

Russian tourists leave the country after their vacations, at the airport of the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 6, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/AP

The airport at Egypt's resort of Sharm el-Sheikh features long had spaces in security, including an integral baggage scanning product that often isn't operating and lax online searches at an entry gate for food and gasoline for the airplanes, safety officials at the airport told The Associated Press.

Security at the airport, among others around Egypt, became a central issue as detectives probe the Oct. 31 crash of a Russian airplane 23 mins after it left Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 aboard. The U.S. and Britain have said the cause had been likely a-bomb grown from the trip, and Russia has actually halted flights to Egypt until security at airports is enhanced.

Seven officials involved in protection at Sharm el-Sheikh airport, a few for over ten years, told the AP associated with gaps, speaking on problem of privacy simply because they were not authorized to speak with the hit. Multiple said the malfunctioning scanner was indeed noted in security reports with their superiors, but the device was not replaced.

Among the officials, involved with security for planes, also pointed to bribe-taking by badly paid policemen monitoring X-ray devices. "i can not inform you just how many times We have caught a bag packed with drugs or weapons they have let through for 10 euros or whatever, " he said.

A spokesman for Egypt's Aviation Ministry, Mohamed Rahma, dismissed the records of inadequate protection, saying "Sharm el-Sheikh is among the safest airports on earth, " without elaborating.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has said British officials delivered a protection group to gauge the airport 10 months ago, in cooperation with Egyptian officials, and were content with the outcomes.

A spokesman for Britain's division of transport wouldn't normally discuss any information on what the team found. But British Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin suggested on Friday that assessment of checked-in bags ended up being inadequate, telling the BBC so it had imposed unique additional inspections on its flights "because we had beenn't completely satisfied with just how assessment was in fact done."

Russian tourists arrive to start out their particular getaways within airport of this Red water resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 6, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

All bags are put through a scanner as guests enter Sharm airport, and carry-on bags go through another device at gate before boarding.

But a scanner in the sorting area for checked-in bags often is not working, all the airport officials speaking to AP said.

The officials stated the breakdowns in 10-year-old CTX scanner were because providers didn't utilize it properly — "human stupidity, " he said — as opposed to technical faults.

He stated he has seen people unplugging the device to truly save power, or since they believe they've been "giving it some slack, " which plays a role in the breakdowns.

Another of officials said the staff ensured the scanner had been running well enough whenever intercontinental experts found review measures at the airport.

"We just care about appearances, " he stated. "Once they (higher-ups) hear something is coming, suddenly every little thing gets fixed. We desire we had visits daily."

A number of the officials argued that it was "not that crucial" your machine broke straight down since when it was working, it is only accustomed scan an example of the bags, only some of them.

Tourists leave after finishing their breaks, in the airport regarding the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, November 6, 2015. Asmaa Waguih/Reuters