CAIRO: Charter flights from Russia to Egypt’s resorts on the Red Sea resumed this week after being suspended for six years following the terrorist attack on a Russian passenger plane over Sinai in 2015.
Irregular flights resumed to the Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh International Airports, which will increase the tourism flow from Russia to Egypt. On Tuesday, the first Aviary Airlines charter flight from Russia landed at Hurghada carrying 184 passengers.
An official in the Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation said the resumption of charter flights between Russia and the Egyptian tourist resorts came after regular flights returned on Aug. 9.
The official also said a number of Russian airlines obtained approvals to land their planes at the Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada airports.
The Federation of Tour Operators said that with the resumption of charter flights, the price of a tourist trip from Russia to Egypt decreased by 20 percent. Officials in the Russian tourism sector estimated that a week-long trip by charter flight to Egypt will now cost 15,000 roubles ($212).
The resumption of chartered flights came after Moscow and Cairo agreed to fully resume air traffic between the two countries, including with Egyptian resorts, back in April.
The six-year hiatus started after an Airbus A321-231 exploded above the northern Sinai Peninsula following its departure from Sharm El-Sheikh on Oct. 31, 2015. The flight was en route to Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and all 224 passengers and crew on board were killed. According to Russian investigators, the cause of the crash was most likely an onboard explosive device.
