A Russian delegation is expected to arrive in Egypt to inspect the security measures in Egypt’s airports according to the chairman of the Egyptian Holding Company of Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN). The delegation’s inspections must be carried out prior to the resumption of direct Russian flights to Egypt.
“All the demands from the Russian side have been implemented,” said the Chairman of EHCAAN Ismail Abouelezz in statements to the press. He stated that modern screening devices and sophisticated surveillance cameras have been installed at a total cost of about EGP 417 million.Russian air flights to Egypt were suspended after the crash of a Russian airliner in Sinai Peninsula in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board. The plane was heading from the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg in Russia.
Russia said that the crash was due to a “terrorist attack,” while Egypt says that cause of the crash is still unknown. However, Sinai Province, a group affiliated with the Islamic State claimed responsibility for downing the plane. In February, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi acknowledged for the first time that the plane was downed by terrorists seeking to damage Egypt’s tourism industry and ties with Moscow.
An official from the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) also stated that Russia has not received any response from Egypt regarding his agency’s observations and aviation security recommendations.
Last May Vladimir Putin and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed on the need to carry out the necessary steps to enhance security measures at the Egyptian airports and to resume Russian flights to Egypt.
