Russia to resume air flights to Egypt next month

By Mahmoud Husseini

CAIRO

Officials on Friday announced that Egyptian air flights to Moscow would resume next month following a more than two-year hiatus.

In a statement, Safwat Musallam, head of EgyptAir, Egypt’s national carrier, said flights to the Russian capital would resume on April 12.

According to Musallam, EgyptAir will offer three flights per week -- on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday -- to Moscow.

Earlier this week, Aeroflot, Russia’s flagship carrier, announced plans to resume flights to Cairo on April 11.

In late 2015, Moscow suspended all flights to and from Egypt after a Russian plane crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula killing everyone on board.

Last December, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi and Russian Transportation Minister Maksim Sokolov signed an aviation security agreement in a step towards resuming flights between the two countries.

In 2015, Russian and British nationals accounted for roughly 40 percent of all tourists visiting Egypt, according to official figures.