Russia resumed flights to the resorts of Egypt Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh as well as to the Dominican Republic, Moldova, Bahrain from Monday, August 9. The relevant decision was earlier made by the operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus.
Flights to Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh will operate five times a week on each route.
Earlier, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev informed reporters that his ministry plans to increase the number of flights after the commission of Russian experts had made a positive decision on this matter.
On Friday, Aeroflot, Pobeda, S7, Smartavia, Nordstar, Ural Airlines, Azur Air, Nordwind, and Royal Flight received permits to operate flights from Moscow and the Russian regions Egyptian resorts. They will be able to use these permits if the authorities decide to increase the frequency of flights.
Egyptian air carriers have already announced plans to carry out flights between the Arab Republic and Russian resorts with EgyptAir on Sunday evening, announcing the launch of seven new flights a week starting August 9, four to Hurghada and three to Sharm el-Sheikh.
The Egyptian tourism industry was first affected by the internal political turmoil of the 2010s. After the explosion of a Russian passenger plane over Sinai in 2015, Russia suspended flights to Egypt. During the quarantine due to the pandemic, local tourism lost up to $1 billion a month.
Air traffic between Russia and Egypt was suspended in 2015 after a Russian airliner crashed over the Sinai Peninsula, killing 224 people.
One of the terrorist groups claimed responsibility for the disaster. In 2018, after strengthening security measures at the Cairo airport, flights from Russia to this city resumed. In April this year, the Presidents of the Russian Federation and Egypt agreed to restore flights between Russian cities and resorts on the Red Sea, Hurghada, and Sharm el-Sheikh. Before that, the airports of Egyptian resorts were inspected by several delegations of Russian aviation security experts.
Russia has resumed air traffic with 50 countries, particularly with France and the Czech Republic.