A false fire alarm on a plane heading from Egypt to Lagos, Nigeria led to a stampede, which resulted in the injury of four passengers, an EgyptAir official said on Sunday.
According to state-owned media, the false alarm went off when the precautionary sanitation measures were being undertaken before the plane’s take-off. However, a false fire alarm in the storage area of the plane went off.
Citing officials in the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Associated Press reported on Monday that Egypt will soon announce a new security system in its airports, involving retinal scanners. This measure will be undertaken as part of intensive airport security measures Egypt is implementing in order to meet Russia’s demands, after it had suspended direct flight to Egypt in November.
The suspension followed the crash of a Russian plane that took off from Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh airport in late October 2015. In light of the crash that killed all 224 on board, the UK suspended its flights as well, causing a decline in Egypt’s tourism sector.
Several Russian delegations visited some of Egypt’s airports to check on the security measures before resuming the flights. There were assumptions that flights will resume in October, but a specific date has not yet been announced.
Aside from the plane crash, bilateral relations between Egypt and Russia have thrived over the past few years in military and commercial fields.
