Russia expects charter flights to Egyptian resorts will be resumed in the near future, some details are left to be worked out, its Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov announced on Wednesday on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). "The work continues, [there are] finishing touches, because the decision, as you know, was made, this was announced at the highest level. So now there are just some details left, including those related to coronavirus restrictions," TASS cited Bogdanov as saying. "And so, of course, I hope that in the near future, our tourists will fly to Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada." "From there, our tourists go to Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada. But, of course, it would be convenient for everyone to have direct flights, not only from Moscow but also from other Russian cities," Bogdanov further explained. On April 23, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed on resuming flights between Russian cities and the Red Sea resorts. In early May, Russian ambassador to Cairo, Georgy Borisenko announced that the aviation authorities and security agencies had to complete the entire range of necessary measures for the real restoration of air traffic. Air traffic between the Russian Federation and Egypt was completely halted in November 2015 after the crash on the Sinai plane of the Russian company Kogalymavia flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, causing the death of all the 217 passengers and seven crew members on board. Authorities described the incident as a terrorist attack. In January 2018, Putin signed a decree to resume regular air travel to Cairo, yet charter flights to Egyptian resort areas are still closed. Over the past years, authorities in Egypt have improved the system of inspection, control and inspection of passengers and baggage, as well as significantly modernised the infrastructure of the airports.
