Russia and Egypt signed a protocol on the resumption of air traffic

On December 15, Russian Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov and Minister of Civil Aviation of Egypt Sherif Fathi signed an intergovernmental protocol on security in the field of aviation, which involves the resumption of air traffic.

“This is the first step towards the resumption of air traffic between our countries, which will, quite possibly, allow flights to Cairo to begin as early as February next year,” Sokolov said.

According to Fathi, air traffic will be restored from February 1, 2018, reports . Prime

Earlier, the Minister of Transport said that regular flights would be the first to be resumed, and the opening of a charter service was “a task for next year.”

• Air traffic between Russia and Egypt was suspended in November 2015 after a Russian passenger plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 224 people. The cause of the disaster was recognized as a terrorist attack - terrorists planted a bomb in the luggage compartment of an airplane at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.
• Since then, a possible lifting of the ban has been repeatedly reported, but there has been no official data on the timing of this decision. Back in November 2017, Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov said that “there is no new information on this topic,” but in December, President Vladimir Putin, after a meeting with the President of Egypt, announced Russia’s readiness “as a whole” to resume air traffic and about the imminent signing of the corresponding protocol.
• Before the crash of the A321 plane, Egypt was one of the most popular destinations among Russian tourists.
• Terrorists from the Vilayat Sinai, a local branch of the Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the explosion on board the Russian plane. In November, alleged IS sympathizers attacked a mosque in the Sinai, killing more than 300 worshipers.