Russian experts praise security at resorts’ airports, says Egyptian ministry

CAIRO, January 16. /TASS/. Russian experts have given high marks to security measures taken at the airports of Egyptian resort cities, the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Monday after Russian experts visited Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. "Specialists of the Russian Federation rated highly the measures taken at two airports with an aim to ensure the safety of air-borne transportation and the moves of the Egyptian side to comply with the demands of safety experts," the ministry said in a statement. It marked "continued coordination between the countries as to the return of Russian tourists to Egypt. Within five days, a team of Russian experts inspected the airports of the resort cities of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. They are to present their conclusions in a final report, basing on which the Russian leadership will decide on a possibility to restore air communication between the two countries suspended more than a year ago following the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt in a terrorist attack. Experts inspected all technical innovations, including safety control systems, examined CCTV cameras capable of storing information for a month, as well as new state-of-the-art biometric equipment for the personnel, which recognizes fingerprints and scans eye retina. Specialists could assess the efficiency of security measures at all stages of flights - from passenger and luggage check-in to the boarding procedure. Another team of Russian specialists is expected to arrive in Cairo this week for final checks. The new team will concentrate on inspecting Terminal 2 of the Cairo International Airport. A stage-by-stage restoration of flights between Russia and Egypt is expected to start there. The office of Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot is already functioning at the terminal. The office of British Airways moved there at the end of last week. It will also operate flights via this terminal, launched several months ago after reconstruction work. Russia suspended air service with Egypt after a Russian passenger plane crashed over Sinai last October. The A321 plane belonging to Russia’s air company Kogalymavia was en route from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to St. Petersburg in Russia (flight KGL 9268) when it crashed over the Sinai Peninsula early on October 31 last year. All the 224 people onboard, including 217 passengers and the seven-member crew, died. The passengers, most of whom were Russians, also included four Ukrainians and one citizen of Belarus. Russian Federal Security Service said the plane crashed as a result of a terrorist attack. Moscow demanded that Egypt steps up security measures at its airports. Read more