Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot said it will resume flights from Moscow to Cairo on 3 February, marking the first direct flight to the Egyptian capital since the deadly crash of a Russian passenger plane in Sinai in late 2015, Magdy Ishaq, the chairman of Cairo Airport Company, told Ahram Online. Two flights will be operated to the Egyptian capitalevery week --on Saturdays and Wednesday, according to a letter sent by the airliner to the Egyptian company. Aeroflot is currently perparing its office at the Cairo airport to resume operations. However, Aeroflot's official website has not yet listed any direct flights from Moscow to Cairo on 3 February. Meanwhile, Officials from Egypt's flagship carrier EgyptAir announced recently that it would run three flights to the Russian capital weekly, starting in early February. Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving the resumption of commercial air traffic between Russia and Cairo. Moscow grounded all commercial passenger flights to Egypt in 2015 over security concerns after a Russian Airbus A321 crashed in Sinai shortly after taking off from Sharm El-Sheikh Airport, killing all 224 people on board. Egypt has since boosted security procedures at many of its airports in response to Russian conditions on the lifting of the flight ban. Egypt's civil aviation ministry announced recently that a new round of talks between Egyptian and Russian officials is planned for April to discuss the resumption of charter flights from Russia to the Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh, two of the most popular destinations for Russian tourists.
