CAIRO: Russia will resume flights to Egypt's Red Sea resorts in March after the lifting of a ban imposed following a 2015 attack on a Russian jet, an aviation official said.
Flights "to the two cities of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada will resume on March 28 via the Russian company Nordwind at a rate of four per week", said Ashraf Noweir, Egypt's civil aviation chief, quoted by pro-government daily Al-Ahram.
He said Russian authorities have approved the resumption of flights to the cities in the Sinai Peninsula.
Moscow banned direct flights to Egypt after a bomb attack in October 2015 on a Russian-owned Airbus jet as it took off from the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh that killed 224 people.
In April 2018, Moscow announced the resumption of flights to Cairo but not to the Red Sea coast, a popular destination for Russian tourists.
The United Kingdom, which had also suspended air links with the peninsula in 2015, relaunched flights to Sharm el-Sheikh at the end of 2019.
Claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, the 2015 attack dealt a severe blow to Egypt's vital tourism industry as the country's economy was already crippled by years of instability following the 2011 uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
While the sector recorded a rebound of nearly $13 billion in revenue for 2018-2019, tourism in Egypt was hit hard again by the coronavirus pandemic, with official figures showing a drop of more than 20 percent in revenues for 2019-2020.
Russian direct flights to Egypt resort towns to resume after five year suspension
https://arab.news/jkpqp
Russian direct flights to Egypt resort towns to resume after five year suspension
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 58.51 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 10,847.93.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.78 billion ($1 billion), as 73 of the listed stocks advanced, while 187 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 7.09 points or 0.48 percent, to close at 1,472.98.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 178.75 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 22,916.83. This comes as 30 of the listed stocks advanced, while 37 retreated.
The best-performing stock was the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, with its share price surging by 8.47 percent to SR31.24.
Other top performers included Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.13 percent to SR53.70, and Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co., which saw a 4.58 percent increase to SR137.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price fell by 5.14 percent to SR17.53.
Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. and Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 4.87 percent and 4.43 percent to SR4.88 and SR181.40, respectively.
On the announcement front, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. announced its annual financial results for 2025, with sales dropping 3.06 percent year-on-year to SR8.45 billion. The company also recorded a net loss of SR893.86 million.
In a Tadawul statement, the company said the net loss and decline in annual sales were driven by a drop in average selling prices, despite higher sales volumes.
