Al Sissi, Putin agree on full restart of flights

Cairo: Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have agreed on the full resumption of flights between the two countries, an Egyptian presidential official said Friday.

In October 2015, a Russian passenger plane crashed in Egypt’s Sinai shortly after take-off from the Egyptian resort city of Sharm Al Shaikh, killing all 224 on board.

The downing, claimed by the Daesh terrorist group, prompted Russia to halt direct flights to Egypt. Egypt’s key resorts of Hurghada and Sharm Al Shaikh have been hard hit by the Russian ban.

Al Sissi Friday received a phone call from Putin and agreed on the full resumption of air traffic between airports of both countries including Hurghada and Sharm Al Shaikh, spokesman for Egyptian presidency, Bassam Radi, said in a statement.

Joint cooperation

“This comes after successful joint cooperation between the two sides in this regard and in view of the criteria of security and comfort available to foreign tourists at the Egyptian airports of the tourism destinations,” Radi added.

The official quoted Al Sissi as hoping that the decision will provide an “effective impetus” to further promote Egyptian-Russian ties and consolidate movement between the two countries.

In 2018, Egypt and Russia resumed flights between Cairo and Moscow, excluding charter flights to the Egyptian Red Sea resorts.