Egyptian-Russian Charter Flights may resume this year: Manturov

CAIRO – 7 June 2019: Charter Flights between Egypt and Russia could resume this year, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov briefed the media on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday.

“It is difficult to say when the charter flights could resume between Egypt and Russia,” he said, adding that they are working to resume the flights this year, Sputnik reported.

Manturov’s media remarks came following his meeting with Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar on the sidelines of the SPIEF on Thursday.

Flights were suspended at the end of 2015 after a bomb downed a Russian flight carrying holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board, mostly Russian tourists. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group.

Since the crash, Egypt has been implementing new, tighter security measures at all of its airports to meet the Russian demands necessary for the resumption of flights, with multiple visits from Russian security delegations to observe changes implemented by the government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decreed to resume flights from Moscow to Cairo in January 2018. On April 11, 2018, the first flight of Russia's Aeroflot airlines arrived to Cairo International Airport. However, the flights from Russia Sharm el Sheikh Airport and Hurghada Airport are still suspended.

On the sidelines of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRFIC) in Beiji on April 26, 2019, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the file resumption of Russian flights to Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada airports.

Vice-President of the Russian Association of Travel Industry Yuri Barzykin told Izvesti newspaper that the flights to the two airports could resume by October.