Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport received on Tuesday the first EgyptAir flight coming from Moscow after a six year suspension on direct flights from Russia to Egyptian Red Sea resorts was lifted by Russian authorities last month. The plane, carrying 297 tourists, was received by the traditional water salute and airport staff, who offered roses, chocolate and souvenirs to the arrivals, an official statement read. Preventive measures against the coronavirus were taken and the PCR and vaccination certificates of the passengers were checked, the statement added. Director of Sharm El-Sheikh Airport Nabil El-Mallah and a group of officials from the airport and the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority received the visitors. The Egyptian Red Sea resorts received on Monday three direct flights from Russia, carrying over 1,300 tourists. Hurghada received two flights from Moscow carrying over 800 Russian visitors. The first plane was operated by EgyptAir and the second was operated by Rossiya, a subsidiary of Russia's state-owned flagship carrier Aeroflot. Sharm El-Sheikh also received a flight operated by Rossiya carrying over 500 passengers. In October 2015, Russia suspended direct flights to Egyptian airports following the crash of a Russian plane in Sinai that killed all 224 people on board. Egypt has since upgraded its safety and security measures at all airports nationwide. The country has also received several Russian security delegations to inspect safety measures at a number of airports. In remarks to the media, Tourism Minister Khaled El-Enany said that Egypt is coordinating with the Russian authorities to increase the number of weekly flights, which currently average at 12.
