British Jet 'Dodged Missile' while Approaching Sharm El Sheikh: Report

The London Stansted flight was said to have come "within 1,000ft" of the deadly missile and only avoided it after the pilot took evasive action.

It eventually landed safely and the passengers on board were not told about the brush with certain death, Daily Mail reported on Friday.

The incident came two months before a Russian airliner crashed after taking off from the Egyptian resort on Saturday killing all 224 on board.

It is claimed a bomb planted by terror group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is the most likely cause of the tragedy prompting the UK to suspend all commercial flights to and from the resort on Wednesday.

The Department for Transport has confirmed the incident involving the British jet which happened on August 23.

"The first officer was in charge at the time but the pilot was in the cockpit and saw the rocket coming towards the plane," a source said.

"He ordered that the flight turn to the left to avoid the rocket, which was about 1,000ft away."

It is thought the five members of cabin crew only found out about the incident after landing and were offered the chance to stay the night in Egypt.

However they are said to have chosen to head straight back to the UK.

The source added that the missile that nearly struck the Thomson jet was also spotted by another of the carrier’s planes as it approached Sharm El Sheikh.

It is reported they were told the rocket was from an Egyptian military exercise but has created fear following Saturday's incident.

The Foreign Office is advising against travel to the northern Sinai region of the country after the Russian jet came down and UK flights have been suspended.

Thousands of stranded Brits still in Sharm El Sheikh began flying home on specially charted flights ordered by the British Government on Friday.

"We investigated the reported incident at the time and concluded that it was not a targeted attack and was likely to be connected to routine exercises being conducted by the Egyptian military in the area at the time," a government spokesman said.

In a statement, Thomson Airways confirmed that an event was reported by the crew of flight TOM 476 on 23 August 2015.

"Upon landing into Sharm el-Sheikh, an initial assessment was conducted and the event was immediately reported to the UK Department for Transport (DfT) in line with established protocol," the statement reads.

"The DfT conducted a full investigation in conjunction with other UK Government experts. After reviewing the details of the case, the investigation concluded that there was no cause for concern and it was safe to continue our flying programme to Sharm el Sheikh."