The Chairman of EgyptAir Safwat Mosalam announced that weekly trips between Madrid and the southern city of Luxor are set to begin through Cairo International Airport during the current winter season. "This comes within the framework of restoring the tourism industry in Egypt, as it is one of the most important sources of national income", Mosalam said in a statement. The first Madrid-Luxor trip flies from Madrid on 5 December, according to Mosalam. European travel bans have taken a toll on Egyptian tourism, a key source of hard currency, after a Russian passenger jet crashed over Sinai in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board. The Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the crash, saying it had smuggled a bomb on board. Since the crash, Egypt has been implementing new, tighter security measures at all of its airports. In October, Egypt's flagship airline announced the resumption of Luxor-London trips, following a one-year suspension of flights between the two destinations. Earlier this month, the first German flight arrived at Sharm El-Sheikh airport, putting an end to the European country's one-year travel ban to the Red Sea resort city. German airlines were among several foreign carriers that imposed travel bans on flights to Sharm El-Sheikh after the Russian passenger jet crash. In recent weeks, a number of foreign airlines have resumed flights to Sharm El-Sheikh airport, including Turkish Airlines and Polish Airlines. Moscow and Cairo are currently negotiating the resumption of Russian flights to Egypt.
