The resumption of full-fledged air service with Egypt is a matter of the near future, but it is difficult to name specific dates, Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov told RIA Novosti.
"Since April 2018, there have been regular flights between Moscow and Cairo... At the same time we are working on the resumption of charter flights to the Egyptian resort cities of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. The main priority for us in addressing this issue is to ensure the safety of Russian citizens," he said.
Syromolotov reminded that "the reason for the suspension of flights with Egypt was the tragedy with a Russian plane in the sky over Sinai in October 2015". "Despite the fact that its investigation in both Russia and Egypt has not yet been completed, the Russian competent authorities found that there was a terrorist attack," the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia said.
"With this in mind, cooperation was established with Egyptian partners through Russian specialized agencies to improve security at the airports of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada. A considerable amount of joint work has been done," he said.
Syromolotov drew attention to the fact that "the coronavirus pandemic has not made it possible to bring it to its end and, consequently, to launch the process of resumption of air service in practice".
"Nevertheless, we are sure that this is a matter of the near future, although today it is difficult to name specific timeframes," he said.
Syromolotov explained that "the issue is serious and falls apart into many technical aspects". "At the same time, we proceed from the assumption that the completion by the Egyptian side of the investigation into the causes of the accident, including the prosecution of those responsible for this crime, would certainly contribute to efforts to prevent similar tragedies in the future," he concluded.
Air traffic between Russian cities and Egyptian resorts was suspended in November 2015 after the crash of the Russian airliner over Sinai. Regular flights to Cairo were restored in April 2018, and Egyptian resorts are still closed to charters from Russia. Egyptian airports were inspected by several delegations of Russian aviation security specialists.
Airbus A321 "Kogalymavia" aircraft crashed in Sinai on October 31, 2015. Then all 217 passengers and seven crew members were killed on board. FSB of Russia qualifies what happened as a terrorist attack.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from RIA Novosti