Resuming Russian flights to Egypt will enhance relations: Russian expert

CAIRO – 6 January 2018: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree to resume direct flights to Cairo, after more than two years of suspension following a tragic plane crash, will enhance the Egyptian-Russian relations considerably, an expert of Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy & International Relations, Farhad Ibrahimov, stated on Saturday.

“Egypt have already cared greatly for Russian tourists and will, of course, exert its best efforts to reach the maximum level of security,” Ibrahimov told Egypt Today, pointing out that Cairo is following a new security policy to avoid any other plane accidents.

He said that the decree allowing the resumption of flights indicates that Egypt satisfies all demands made by Russian experts on ensuring security at domestic airports.

Russia’s largest national carrier, Aeroflot, has begun to restore its representation in Cairo, he added. Aeroflot will be the first commercial Russian flight to land in Egypt since 2015, with a flight scheduled for the beginning of February 2018, Russian Transportation Minister, Maxim Sokolov, stated.

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


The Russian Minister manifested that 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 number 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 the crew aboard the Airbus A321. ISIS claimed responsibility for the terrorist act.

The return of Russian flights and tours could be a massive boost to the low tourist numbers - 5.3 million in 2016, compared to 14.7 million in 2010. However, it should be noted that the industry is recovering gradually.