Cairo International Airport's new Terminal 2 is now compliant with all aviation security requirements, Russia's transport minister, Maxim Sokolov, said in interview with Rossiya 24 TV Channel. "Certain items have not yet been implemented, but [alot] has been done, particularly in the new terminal of Cairo airport, which is nearly fully in line with all international aviation and transport security requirements, except the automatic control system of staff access to airside," the minister said Tuesday in statements reported by Russian news agency TASS. Cairo International Airport has three main terminals. Terminal 2 was re-opened for flights after renovations in late September. Sokolov added that Russia has not asked for any new additional requirements from the Egyptian side. The statements by Sokolov come only a few days after Hisham Bastawi, an aide to Egypt Interior Minister, said authorities have implemented most airport security measures demanded by Russia with the remaining ones to be put in place in the coming weeks. According to Bastawi, a biometric system of employee access to airports, which monitors the time of arrival and departure of staff, is among the measures to be implemented. Russia grounded flights to and from Egypt after an Airbus A321 en route to St Petersburg crashed soon after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh on 31 October 2015. All 224 people aboard died as a result of the crash that was classified by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) as a terrorist attack. Moscow has demanded Egypt implement tight security meassures at all its airports. Negotiations between the two countries to resume Russian flights to Egypt have been ongoimg for months, with multiple visits by Russian security to Egyptian airports to monitor changes implemented by Cairo at its airports. The return of Russian flights to Egypt would mean the country could once again receive large numbers of Russian tourists to boost its ailing tourism industry, which is a major source of much needed foreign currency for Cairo.
