Flights between Egypt and Russia are expected to resume in April, after two years of suspension, the Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported on Monday.
Russian media published conflicting reports about the exact date of resumption. Russia Today reported that it the official website of Moscow’s airport said the first flight will take place on 22 March. Meanwhile, Sputnik said that that first flight will be on 17 March, according to information published on Moscow Domodedovo Airport’s website.
When checking the website, Daily News Egypt found the first date of flights will be 22 March, which contradicts TASS and Sputnik reports.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Aviation told Daily News Egypt, regarding the conflicts reports, that the resumption of flights is already ongoing and approved, saying the resumption date will be determined based on the organising of flights of different airports.
Earlier this month, state-run Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper reported that flights of both countries will resume in late March or early April.
In January, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving the resumption of air traffic between his country and Egypt.
Russia, along with the United Kingdom, suspended flights to Egypt in the aftermath of an attack claimed by the Islamic State group, which brought down a Russian passenger flight on 31 October 2015. The plane took off from Sharm El-Sheikh and was bound for Saint Petersburg. It crashed over the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.
Egypt has since made a number of upgrades and modifications to the security measures at its airports. The incident was acknowledged by President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi as a terror attack.
