Russia's decision to cancel the ban on charter flights to Egyptian resorts will strengthen bilateral cooperation in tourism, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated on Thursday.
"Egypt welcomes the Russian Federation's decision to lift the ban on charter flights to and from Egypt after the Russian president's decree," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued. - "We hope for the earliest return of Russian tourism to Egyptian resorts, which will strengthen bilateral cooperation in this area, taking into account the preventive measures taken by the Egyptian government to contain the new coronavirus".
"We are confident that this step reflects the strength of Egyptian-Russian relations at all levels, which are rapidly developing in various areas," the Foreign Ministry pointed out.
On July 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted a 2015 decree banning Russian airlines from flying to Egyptian resorts. Prior to that, air links between Russia and Egypt were completely terminated in November 2015 after the crash of a plane of the Russian company Kogalymavia flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg in Sinai. There were 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board, all of whom died. The FSB qualified the incident as a terrorist attack.
Earlier on Thursday, the Egyptian Holding Company for Airport and Air Traffic Management told TASS that Russia and Egypt were already coordinating measures to resume charter flights to Red Sea resorts as soon as possible. In addition, according to Mustafa Khalil, a former member of the Egyptian Federation of Travel Chambers, hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada have started receiving requests to book rooms and programs for Russian tourist groups.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS