Russia likely to resume flights to Egypt by beginning 2018

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Fri, 15 Dec 2017 - 01:25 GMT

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Fri, 15 Dec 2017 - 01:25 GMT

Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi - Reuters

Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi - Reuters

CAIRO – 15 December 2017: After 26 months of suspending direct flights between Egypt and Russia, a glimpse of hope flavors Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi’s visit to Moscow on Thursday, as he seeks to finalize procedures needed to settle the issue permanently.

Fathi will meet the Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov on Friday to discuss signing an air security agreement in preparation to the resumption of flights between the two countries. It comes after several countries and international aviation bodies had praised the security and safety measures adopted in the Egyptian airports following the Russian plane disaster in October 2015.

The Airbus A321, operated by Metrojet, was returning Russian tourists from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg when it crashed over the Sinai Peninsula and killed all 224 on board. Egypt-Russia investigations are yet to reveal the crash’s causes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Cairo on Monday when he promised to resume flights soon as part of growing bilateral cooperation.

"President Putin affirmed Russia's intention to resume regular flights between Moscow and Cairo in the very near future," the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

The Russian suspension has affected Egypt’s national economy negatively as tourism industry, especially the Russian, represents a key source of foreign currency to the country. The industry has been already battered after the 25 January 2011 revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak and the unrest that followed.

The return of Russian flights and tours could be a massive boost to tourist numbers that reached 5.3 million tourists in 2016, compared to 14.7 million visitors in 2010.

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