Putin finally lifts ban on Russia’s charter flights to Egypt

Russian President Vladimir Putin has lifted on Thursday a ban on Russia’s charter flights to Egypt, a step expected to be a boom for Egypt’s year-round Red Sea resorts in Sharm al-Sheikh and Hurghada. These two cities used to allure large number of Russians in the past.

The move came six years after suspending these flights for national security seasons in the aftermath of a plane from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg crashed over the Sinai Peninsula in October 2015, killing 224 people. Russia concluded that a bomb was behind the plane crash. A group affiliated with Islamic State (ISIS) extremists claimed responsibility for the crash at the time.

Since the plane crash, Egyptian authorities have spent millions of dollars to upgrade security at its airports, hoping to get Moscow to resume flights to its resorts.

In April, Egypt and Russia agreed to resume all flights between the two countries in a call between their presidents, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Vladimir Putin.