Notable progress to resume Russian flights: Civil Aviation

CAIRO - 7 September 2017: Egypt makes notable progress in negotiations with Russia in an effort to lift the ban on flights to the Red sea resort of Sharm el-Shiekh, Civil Aviation media advisor Bassem Abdel-Karim said Thursday.

“We have not set a certain time to resume flights or put a timetable, but we constantly communicate with each other and move forward,” Abdel-Karim told Egypt today.
On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in a press conference that Russia intended to resume flights to Egypt this fall during his meeting with President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi on the sidelines of BRICS Summit in China.

Having the last inspection of Cairo International Airport, the Russian source revealed that the Egyptian side conformed to the international aviation security requirements especially in Terminal 2 at Cairo International Airport (CAI) second terminal. Given this fact, resuming the Russian Flights after settling the regulatory procedures will be possible.

Expectedly, resumption of Moscow-Cairo flights are said to begin and to be followed by direct regular flights to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

Earlier, a Russian security delegation has visited Egypt and praised the latest security developments made at Cairo International Airport (CIA) second terminal. The terminal is expected to host flights between Cairo and Moscow in the near future.

The Russian security delegation that arrived aboard a Turkish flight from Istanbul was comprised of five security experts accompanied by a number of Egyptian security officials and senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Tourism, and employees of the Russian “Aeroflot” airlines. The delegation is expected to report the observed developments at the security level in the airport to the Russian government, which will inform their decision for the resumption of Russian flights and tourism to Egypt.