Putin decrees resumption of Russian flights to Egypt

CAIRO - 4 January 2018: Russian President Vladimir Putin has decreed to resume flights from Moscow to Cairo Egypt after 26 months of Russian air suspension, Sputnik news agency reported Thursday.

The resumption of the fights came into force by Putin's signature, the new agency added.

On December 15, 2017, an Egyptian-Russian cooperation protocol in maintaining civil aviation security was signed after a meeting between Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi and Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov in Moscow, Egypt’s Aviation Ministry said in an official statement.

The protocol intends to resume flights between Cairo and Moscow for the first time since 2015, starting February 2018, the statement added.

The Russian minister manifested that the Russian air flights will resume first to Cairo, not Sharm el-Sheikh or Hurghada. Russian tourists can easily pay visits to Sharm el-Sheikh and other resorts with only LE 6,000 ($335.46) after arriving in Cairo.

On October 31, 2015, Metrojet flight no. 9268 crashed shortly after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh on a charter flight to St. Petersburg, Russia. There were no survivors among the 224 passengers and crew aboard the Airbus A321. ISIS claimed responsibility for the terrorist act.