Russia to resume flights with Egypt amid coronavirus

CAIRO – 3 September 2020: The Russian government announced resuming flights with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives, after suspension over the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Reuters reported.

A government order published on Thursday showed that the Russian government said it had authorized three flights a week to Cairo, as well as two flights a week to Dubai and to the Maldives’s Velana International Airport.

The Russian Union of Travel Agencies has requested that the government resumes tourist flights to Egypt, according to Russian reports last March.

The Russian government recommended against traveling to Italy, China, South Korea and Iran because of coronavirus. The union said this is another reason why it demands the resumption, as more tourist destinations for Russians have been closed.

The union added that the demand on Egyptian resorts has not declined among Russian tourists, who "impatiently" await returning to the country, according to Russian media outlets.

It continued to warn that the tourism sector may collapse and social turbulence may occur due to the restrictions imposed because of the novel virus.

Although a flight ban to Sharm el-Sheikh has been imposed by Russian since 2015 after a Russian airliner was downed, Russain tourists still go to the resort via Turkey. The U.K. lifted a similar ban in October 2019.