The study of the remains from the Russian plane crash in Egypt is at its final stage, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Turkey’s Antalya Monday.
“We are at the final stage of studying the debris,” Putin said.
The Italian PM expressed his condolences on the tragedy. “We must show unity. Above all, this unity should be displayed in the fight against terrorism,” he said.
Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines announced Sunday that it will suspend its flights to Sharm El-Sheikh until 30 November due to security concerns.
“Because of security issues over the airfield of Sharm El-Sheikh, our flights have been mutually cancelled until Nov. 30, 2015,” the company said in a statement. It said in a statement that its plans for the evacuation of passengers who are still in Sharm El-Sheikh will be shared later.
Turkish Airlines cancelled its flights to and from Sharm El-Sheikh due to security concerns on 5 November after the Russian jet plane crash in Sinai that killed all 224 mostly Russian passengers.
The tourism sector is highly impacted by the Russian plane crash. Egyptian Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou said he estimates losses to reach EGP 6.6bn in the next three months.
Meanwhile, a joint meeting between the Egyptian Ministers of Civil Aviation, Tourism, and Communications was held to discuss the revitalisation of tourism movement in Egyptian airports.
Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal welcomes any requests from airlines for any additional security measures within the framework of Egyptian law. He also stressed that Egyptian airports apply all international legalisations, according to a statement released by the ministry.
A series of urgent measures will be taken by the government to support the tourism sector, Zaazou said. Local tourism will be promoted by launching low-priced programmes.
Meanwhile the Egyptian embassy in Warsaw is participating in an international tourism exhibition held in the capital of Poland. The embassy also launched a campaign to promote several Egyptian touristic locations. Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said all Egyptian embassies are making effort to encourage more tourists to visit Egypt.
Sharm El-Sheikh Airport received 45 international flights Sunday, including nine Ukrainian flights carrying 1,350 tourists and eight Italian flights carrying 1,200 tourists on board.
Hurghada airport also received 77 international and local flights, including 23 German flights carrying 3,500 tourists, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. Three Turkish flights also arrived with 300 tourists on board. Sixteen Russian flights also arrived without passengers to evacuate the Russian tourists for their safety.
A Russian Metrojet A321 plane crashed in Sinai on 31 October en route from Sharm El-Sheikh to St. Petersburg.
