Translated material
Exodus from Egypt
The return of Russian tourists from Egypt can take a month, British - 10 days
The sale of vouchers and sending tourists to Egypt from Russia has been stopped, an operation began on the export of about 80 thousand Russians who are there now. For travel agencies, this can turn into ruin. The removal of Russian tourists can take up to 30 days, the UK authorities expect to cope faster, but they also have less tourists in Egypt. The closure of the air traffic between Russia and Egypt occurred after new messages appeared in the media confirming the version of the terrorist attack on board the aircraft of Kogalymavia (Metrojet brand), which broke over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31. At the same time, at the official level, Moscow still refuses to recognize the explosion on board the liner with the main version of the disaster. Egypt also only indirectly admits the possibility of a terrorist attack - the study of the airport observation cameras have begun.
The combination of a terrorist attack on board the aircraft as the most likely cause of the crash also appeared in the first days after the disaster, but only on Friday the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and some other countries suspended flights to the Sharm Esh-shi until the end of the cause of the Russian liner death over the Sinai Peninsula. The Russian authorities were waiting with this decision to the last. As a result, the ban established by Russia turned out to be even more stringent: all flights from the country to any Egyptian cities were stopped.
It is possible that the Russian authorities pulled with a ban on flying to Egypt due to the scale of the problems that this could lead. Egypt is the most popular direction among Russian tourists, vouchers are cheap there, you can swim around the sea, do not need a visa, planes fly directly from many Russian cities. Interfax quotes the press secretary of the Russian Union of Tour operators Irina Tyurin , according to which about 50 thousand Russians in Egypt may take a month. The head of Rosturism Oleg Safonov calls "Interfax" a figure of 80 thousand people. TASS gives the opinion of the Association of Tour operators of Russia, according to which up to 70 thousand Russians can now be in this country, and until December 20, about 100 thousand people should have been flying to this country. The British authorities expect to remove their citizens from Egypt in 10 days - there are about 20 thousand in the resorts of the country.
According to Irina Tyurina, if tour operators have to return the money for already purchased vouchers to Egypt, this will mean bankruptcy even for the largest of them. At the same time, the head of the Union Yuri Barzykin believes that there will be no mass bankruptcy. The Russian Newspaper reports that many travel agencies are already inviting their customers to change plans and go to Turkey. However, tickets to this country are more expensive, and the air and water temperature on the Mediterranean coast is noticeably lower than on the Red Sea. Nevertheless, Internet users working in the tourism industry advise you to agree to this option:
“As a person working for several years, I can say that those who planned to fly in the near future will offer alternatives (Turkey, Thailand, etc.). Agree immediately, because no one will return the money. The decision of the state authorities is an irresistible force. In the best case, it will be possible to return everything except the FPR (actually the expenses incurred), and if the departure in the near future, and if the release in the near future, and if the release is released in the near future. Then the FPR will be mostly part of it if they bought a “burning” tour for 3 kopecks.
On Saturday, a message appeared on the website of the Crimea Government on Saturday, the peninsula annexed by Russia is ready to become an "alternative to Egypt and Turkey." This was the head of the Republic of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, said to the Minister of the Crimea and Tourism of Crimea Sergei Strelbitsky in response to his proposal to accept tourists "who will prefer autumn vacation in Crimea to foreign directions." "The southern coast of Crimea, thanks to the dry subtropical climate, is optimally suitable for rest in the fall, for general recovery, as well as for the prevention and treatment of a number of diseases," reported Strelbitsky Aksenov. According to Yandex, now the air temperature in Feodosia - one of the popular resorts of the peninsula - fluctuates around the mark of +10 degrees. In Sharm Esh-Sheikh on Saturday it was +28, in Turkish Antalya +22.
The export of Russian tourists from Egypt, which began on Saturday, is carried out in general terms according to the same scheme that British carriers began to be used a day earlier - only with manual treasury. Due to the version that the explosive device was laid in a suitcase or bag handed over for registration, tourists will be delivered separately after a thorough check, either on empty passenger aircraft, or by the Ministry of Emergencies. After this is done, the planes will be redirected to other directions, for example, Turkish, if by this moment the Russian authorities do not decide to “open” Egypt again.
As the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters, the operation to export Russian tourists from Egypt "is under the control of local military, the first baggage aircraft will be delivered today." A section has been created on the government’s website, which publishes the latest news regarding the situation. In particular, the Ministry of Labor recommends employers to regard the situation in Egypt as a good reason for the failure of employees to work.
The situation in Russian airports remained difficult on Friday and the first half of Saturday, from where passengers of the canceled flights to Egypt were supposed to fly out. As journalist Ilya Krasovchik wrote on Facebook, at Sheremetyevo Airport on Saturday 20 minutes before departure, Aeroflot flight was canceled in Cairo, most passengers of which were Egyptians:
Aeroflot confirmed that the plane went to Cairo empty to pick up Russian citizens from Egypt.
On Vnukovo, on Friday, passengers were not allowed into the “Orenburg Airlines” aircraft that had already been standing at Gate. Some of the passengers needed medical care.
Several passengers have already turned to doctors at Vnukovo Airport for help, where a crush arose due to the massive cancellation of flights to Egypt.
- Anna Levchenko (@agatacrysty) November 6, 2015According to the Radio Liberty correspondent in St. Petersburg, three morning flights to Egypt, which were supposed to go from Pulkovo Airport on the schedule, were also canceled, and the planes flew empty to take out tourists in the country.
A similar situation with the air show between Russia and Egypt was already during the 2011 Jasmine Revolution and in 2012, due to mass armed clashes of demonstrators with the police and the army in Cairo and other cities. Tour operators suffered serious losses, but the Russian authorities did not introduce an unconditional ban on any flights to Egypt. The disaster investigation , as the American television company CBS , with reference to unnamed sources at the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), turned to this department for help in the investigation of the Airbus A321 Kogalymavia aircraft. As the publication suggests, we are talking about an attempt to determine the type of explosive device that has worked. The version of the attack became the main in the Western media after the message of the French television channel France2, which spoke about the "sound of an explosion not related to the operation of the engine" recorded by the speech recorder installed in the pilot cab. Earlier, the Islamic State group, which was prohibited in Russia and several other countries, took responsibility for the explosion on board the liner, but its representatives did not publish any evidence of this today. "Gazeta.ru" on Saturday publishes the story of a tourist who returned from Sharm Eshkh on Friday-he said the last Russians who returned to the aircraft together with the aircraft together with the aircraft together with with your luggage. There really are more inspections at the airport, including baggage checks, but all of them are carried out by local personnel. On Saturday, near the Sharm Esh-Sheikh airport, a “spontaneous” promotion of local residents took place, who stood near the road with a long banner in the colors of the Egyptian flag and the A4 format “We are safe in Egypt” on paper: Op de LuchThaven Van Sharm El Sjeikh Mogen We Niet Meer Filmen. Wel Deze %27Spontane %27 Bething Biten. pic.twitter.com/yenb1pif1l
- Olaf koens (@obk) november 7, 2015
Despite all this news, Russia at the official level still refuses to recognize the cause of the attack of the attack. "Russian experts will request from the French investigators and the Egyptian commission confirmation of the explosion of the explosion on board the aircraft. At the moment, we can only talk about the presence of vague sounds recorded on the speech of the self -writer. To establish the nature and nature of these sounds, all the more to say that they relate to the explosion, we do not have such data," RIA Novosti told the RIA Novosti agencies. The Russian representative office under the special commission of Egyptian aircraft in the investigation of the disaster.
Journalists suggested that one of the airport employees or one of the passengers could carry a bomb on board the aircraft. On Friday, a British citizen who visited Egypt earlier this year, told the Sky News television channel, as an employee of the Sharm Esh-Sheikh airport, he and his wife went to the aircraft bypassing all the queues and inspections in just 20 pounds (about 2000 rubles). Similar stories are published now in Russian forums, for example, on the popular “Vinsky Forum”:
"I myself had passed passport control when I took place in August 2010, and then I needed to return. The price of the issue was 50 Egyptian pounds to the guard - he spent me in both directions bypassing passport control."
The Kommersant newspaper writes on Saturday with reference to Egyptian forensic experts who examined the remains of the bodies of the dead, that the analysis of damage, in particular, dividing many bodies into fragments, indicates that some flight passengers died from the mine-explosive injuries.