The group was headed by the prime minister’s envoy on aviation security, Sir William Patey.

UK airlines are currently banned from flying to Sharm el Sheikh after a Russian charter airline was downed by a bomb.

The British delegation met with Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, tourism minister Hisham Zaazou and others.

British Ambassador John Casson said: “Britain was the first to act on airport security issues at Sharm El Sheikh, and we want to be the first to find the solutions to restore normal flights as soon as possible.

"That’s why Britain’s most senior aviation security experts are here in Cairo this week. Our talks have shown very encouraging progress, with shared analysis, shared commitment to swift progress, and shared ideas on the way forward.

"We now have a strong basis to agree a shared action plan in the days ahead, and to return British flights as soon as possible."

The likes of easyJet, Thomson Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines all had passengers in Sharm when the ban was put in place and had to mount a series of repatriation flights.

“If you’re still in Sharm el Sheikh and now wish to leave you’ll need to make your own arrangements for returning to the UK,” the Foreign Office said.

Monarch has cancelled flights up to and including December 19. Adrian Tighe, the company’s chief commercial officer, said Monarch was in constant dialogue with the government and had yet to make a decision on what to do with the grounded aircraft.

Monarch is due to start flying to the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Eilat (Ovda airport) this December.