Russian experts inspecting airport security in Egyptian resorts - source

CAIRO, April 15. /TASS/. Russian experts have started a new inspection of security at the airports in the Egyptian resort cities of Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, an informed source in Egypt’s aviation circles told TASS on Monday. "A delegation of 15 Russian specialists arrived in Cairo on Sunday night and after splitting up into two groups it immediately set out for the resort areas to hold a new inspection of security at the Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh airports," the source said. The inspection will last until April 19. As the Egyptian side believes, Hurghada will be the first airport to open for Russian charter flights. No specific dates have been given. The Russian experts will inspect the entire security system at the Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh airports: from the passengers’ entry into the terminal and their registration for a flight to the procedure of boarding an airliner, including checking the luggage and taking it on board, as well as the work of the airport’s personnel and the supply of meals during a flight. Last time, Russian specialists held their inspection at the end of 2018. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on April 6 after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that Egypt’s authorities were working on ensuring security at their airports and were seeking to maximally take Russia’s experience in this sphere into account. Shoukry said Egypt was welcoming Russian delegations as part of technical interaction for resuming direct air communication with Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh and would do its utmost to ensure security so that Russian tourists could return to Egyptian resorts. Russia-Egypt air communication All flights between Russia and Egypt were cancelled in November 2015 after an A321 passenger jet owned by Russia’s Kogalymavia air carrier bound for St. Petersburg crashed on October 31, 2015, some 30 minutes after its takeoff from Egypt’s resort of Sharm El Sheikh. In 2016-2017, the sides negotiated the resumption of flights. A new terminal meeting all aviation security requirements was built in the Cairo airport. Before flights resumed, Russian aviation experts inspected the airport several times. In January 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to resume regular flights between Russia and Egypt. The first flight from Moscow to Cairo took place on April 11, 2018. However, charter flights to Egyptian resort towns, particularly Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, remain suspended to date. Read more