Russian, Egyptian air carriers gear up to resume Moscow-Cairo flights, says ambassador

MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. Egypt's flagship airline EgyptAir and Russia’s Aeroflot are wrapping up preparations to restart flights between Moscow and Cairo, with a number of commercial issues left to be settled, Egypt’s Ambassador to Russia Ihab Nasr said in an interview with TASS on Wednesday. "At the moment, EgyptAir and Aeroflot are putting the finishing touches on preparations for resuming flights, I mean commercial aspects: signing contracts on ground servicing, supplying fuel to Egyptian airliners here in Russia and to Russian jets in Egypt," the diplomat explained. The first flights between Moscow and Cairo are expected to be launched in February. Aeroflot plans to perform two flights per week from Sheremetyevo Airport - on Wednesdays and Saturdays. EgyptAir will conduct three flights to the Russian capital. The company has filed applications for slots at Domodedovo airport for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on resuming flights between Russia and Egypt after a two-year-long pause on January 4. All flights between both countries were cancelled in November 2015 after the explosion of an A320 jet belonging to the Russian carrier Metrojet over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, less than half an hour after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh international airport. The terrorist attack claimed the lives of all 217 passengers and seven crewmembers. As a precondition for the resumption of flights, Russia called for considerably tightening security measures at Egyptian airports. Read more