Russia confirms resumption of Charter flights to Egypt resorts

Russia has announced that airlines can resume charter flights to Egyptian resorts. Moscow had banned charter flights to the north African nation after the suspected bombing of a Russian airliner, in which 224 people died in 2015.

President Vladimir Putin cancelled his order suspending the flights, according to a document on the government information website, but the site did not give details of the decision.

All Russian flights to Egypt were banned after October 31, 2015, following the explosion of a St. Petersburg-bound airliner soon after takeoff from Sharm El Sheikh.

Russian officials declared the disaster a terrorist bombing. They claimed that security procedures in Egyptian airports were insufficient at the time. Russian flights to Cairo resumed in 2018 but remained banned to the resort areas of Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh.

Prior to the ban, Russians were the top nationality of visitors to Egypt, numbering about 3 million in 2014.

Suzan O/AFN