Russian President Vladimir Putin rescinded a former 2015-decree issued banning Russian charter flights to Red Sea resorts in Egypt, Russian News TASS reported on Thursday. The decision to rescind the decree ends a near six-year suspension following a Russian airliner deadly crash over Sinai in 2015. According to TASS, it was published on an official legal Russian website portal. In April, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Putin agreed to resume the flights between Russia and Egypt's Red Sea airports including Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada. Russia suspended direct flights to Red Sea resorts in Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh as well as other Egyptian airports following the crash of a Russian flight in Sinai in the October of 2015. Russia's flight suspension to Red Sea resorts has taken a heavy toll on Egypt's tourism industry – a key source of hard currency – since Russian visitors were major contributors to the tourism market in the country prior to 2015. Since 2015, Egyptian authorities have upgraded all safety and security measures at all of the country's airports. As a result of Egyptian efforts, Russia resumed flights to Cairo International Airport in April 2018, ending a 30-month suspension but did not resume flights to Egypt's Red Sea destinations. Over the past several years, Russian aviation and security experts have inspected safety measures at Egyptian airports, including Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, on more than one occasion.
