Egypt hopes to restore flight connection with Russia next month - Egypt’s civil aviation ministry

CAIRO, January 19 /TASS/. Cairo hopes Egypt will be able to restore all flight connections with Russia next month, Mohamed Rahma, a spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, said on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, a group of Russian experts started inspecting what security precautions the Cairo international airport was taking. Egypt hopes the inspection results may clarify how soon the flights between the two counties could resume. Russia suspended the flights of Russian airlines to Egypt after the Russian A321 passenger aircraft had crashed over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, 2015. "We understand the Russian side’s concerns about security at Egyptian airports and are trying to take all the remarks and observations into consideration," Rahma said. "We are not hiding anything and are cooperating with Moscow to the maximum," the spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation said. Earlier on Tuesday, Russian experts for security on air transport and Egypt’s aviation authorities discussed the security situation at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport. In addition to that, Rahma said, the Egyptian authorities carry out independent security checks at all airports in Egypt. On November 6 last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with the recommendations of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee to suspend all air flights to Egypt. All Russian air companies halted flights to Egypt at 20:00 on November 6. Putin’s Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained the measure would be in force not just until the end of investigation into the A321 plane crash over the Sinai Peninsula but also until proper security standards were guaranteed on trips to Egypt. Putin also said that assistance be provided to the Russian vacationers in Egypt whose number at that time was estimated at almost 90,000 people. The A321 plane belonging to Russia’s air company Kogalymavia was en route from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to St. Petersburg in Russia (flight KGL 9268) when it crashed over the Sinai Peninsula early on October 31. The plane fell near El Hasna populated locality 100 km to the south of Al-Arish, the administrative center of the North Sinai Governorate (province). All the 224 people onboard, including 217 passengers and the 7-member crew, died. The passengers, most of whom were Russians, also included four Ukrainians and one citizen of Belarus. Read more