Flights Between Cairo And Moscow To Resume February 2018

According to Russian Tass News agency in a statement to reporters on Monday, Russia’s Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov said that flights between Cairo and Moscow should resume in February of 2018.

All related intergovernmental protocols and paperwork seem ready to sign on Russia’s end of things, mostly pending the Egyptian party’s contribution to the effort.

“Egypt has done a lot to improve airport security.” Putin said in a press conference in Cairo earlier this past Monday, “Soon I will be signing a memo to resume air flights to Egypt.” He then went on to highlight the positive reforms and developments with regards to security measures at Egyptian airports, according to a recent Russian security agency report.

All scepticism and caution are, of course, warranted. Harkening back to the shocking and tragic crash of a Russian A321 airbus over the Sinai Peninsula shortly after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh, killing all 224 passengers. This prompted the initial ban and dealt a massive blow to Egyptian tourism, seeing as how something in the neighbourhood of three million Russian tourists visit Egypt’s seaside resorts and various attractions annually.

While air travel between Cairo and Moscow will hopefully see the light of day in the coming months, Russia still forbids charter flights to the Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh pending further security reassurance.

Egypt’s tourism industry has reached record lows in the past few years owing to unrest and turmoil in the region as well as the chaotic nature of the economy as of late, but with the ease on flights between the two countries, things are looking up for the industry.

Photo by Reuters.