Canada has ended a ban on belly cargo on direct passenger flights from Egypt following a more than two-year suspension over security concerns, Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil said in a statement on Wednesday. The decision to lift the ban followed a visit by a technical delegation of the Canadian transport ministry to inspect logistics and security measures on direct cargo flights to the Canadian city of Toronto, Kabil said. Canada and the US had imposed a ban on belly cargo on direct passenger flights by Egypt's national carrier EgyptAir shortly after a Russian jet crashed in Sinai in October 2015, an EgyptAir official explained to Ahram Online. However, cargo flights from Egypt were not banned. Freight, including textiles, fruits and vegetables, is often stored under the main deck of passenger planes. The ban on belly cargo on passenger flights has hurt the country's exports to the US and Canada as shippers struggled to find alternatives, given the long time required to send exports via indirect flights. Following the 2015 plane crash, which killed everyone on board, Russia, along with a number of European countries, suspended direct passenger flights to Egypt over safety concerns. Many European countries have since resumed direct flights. Last week, Moscow resumed direct air traffic with Cairo after a long period of talks and Egypt's introduction of enhanced security measures at its airports. According to the EgyptAir official, the ban by the US on belly cargo from Egypt is still in place.
