State-owned carrier EgyptAir said on Tuesday it will operate three weekly flights from Cairo to Moscow, starting from Thursday 17 September. In accordance with Russia's coronavirus precautions, all passengers are required to present a negative PCR test result issued 72 hours before arrival in Moscow. It must come from one of the accredited labs in Egypt, and must be in either Russian or English. The flights will be on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday. Russia resumed international flights to Egypt, the UAE and the Maldives, on 3 September, after a six-month hiatus due to the spread of the coronavirus. Russia's Aeroflot airline has said it too will operate three weekly flights from Moscow to Cairo, starting 9 September. Egypt began a gradual resumption of regular international flights on July 1, having closed its airspace in March. It also requires travellers arriving at its airports to show a negative PCR lab test result certificate. However, travellers entering Egypt at any of four airports in Red Sea and South Sinai governorates can take a test upon arrival. Egypt hopes that the resumption of regular flights will boost its coronavirus-hit tourism sector, an essential source of foreign currency, with Russians previously making up the largest bloc of tourists flying into the country.
