Russian mission to visit Egypt end-August on resuming direct flights

A Russian mission is scheduled to visit Egypt by the end of August 2016 to assess the security measures in Egyptian airports to resume Russian direct flights to Egypt.

Egypt’s Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy stated Friday that the ministry is following the procedures taken by Egyptian-Russian joint committees to secure airports.

He clarified that Egypt received two Russian delegations; one targeted assessing security measures in airports and touristic villages in Sharm EL Sheikh and Hurgha while the other one targeted showcasing latest results about the Russian crashed plane.

The minister noted that the joint committees hold regular meeting to discuss latest results about the crashed plane to give necessary recommendations.

In October 2015, a Russian plane crashed shortly after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh airport, killing all 224 passengers and crew on board.

As a result of the crash, the UK and Germany suspended their direct flights to Sharm El-Sheikh as well. In June, Russian ministry of transport said that Egypt has not updated them with any aviation security measures.