A Russian delegation arriving in Egypt on July 27 will stay in the resorts of the country with an inspection until Friday. This was stated in a statement issued on Monday by the Arab republic's Ministry of Civil Aviation.
"A delegation of Russian officials comprising representatives of the Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare, the Russian Research Institute and the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism) will arrive in Cairo on July 27, staying until Friday, to inspect preventive and health measures taken at Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada airports to counter the threat of coronavirus ahead of the implementation of the decision to resume flights from Russia to Egyptian resorts on August 9," it said. The communiqué also indicates that experts, in addition to the air harbors of resort cities, will also inspect a number of hotels and hospitals for compliance with the necessary medical and epidemiological standards.
As stressed in the department, many Russian airlines have already applied with requests to perform flights to Egyptian resorts, but so far there is no exact flight schedule. The ministry expects that all permits will be issued after the delegation checks Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada and sends its report to the Russian government.
On July 23, the operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus infection reported that flight connections with Egyptian resorts on the routes Moscow - Hurghada and Moscow - Sharm el-Sheikh will be resumed on August 9. Earlier Rospotrebnadzor reported that Russia will send an interdepartmental delegation to the Arab republic to assess the epidemic situation, preventive measures in tourist resorts, as well as the capacity of laboratories and medical facilities.
Flight resumption
Air travel between Russia and Egypt was completely stopped in November 2015 after the crash of the Russian company Kogalymavia plane flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg on the Sinai Peninsula. There were 217 passengers and 7 crew members on board, all of whom died. The FSB qualified the incident as a terrorist attack.
In January 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to resume regular flights to Cairo, but charter flights to Egyptian resort areas remained closed until now. Over the years, the Egyptian side has improved the system of screening, control and inspection of passengers and luggage, as well as significantly upgraded the airport infrastructure.
On July 8, 2021, Putin rescinded the 2015 decree banning Russian airlines from flying to Egyptian resorts.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS