A Russian airliner has crashed in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula, the office of the country's prime minister says.

A senior aviation official said it was a charter flight operated by a Russian company, and had 217 passengers and seven crew members on board.

Communication with the aircraft was lost, he added.

The statement contradicts recent reports citing the chief of Egypt's state Aviation Accidents Commission, Ayman al-Moqdam, who said contact had been restored with the plane as it flew through Turkish airspace.

"An agent for the Russian company operating the aircraft has told us that the plane is safe and is now flying through the Turkish airspace," he said.