Russian experts to start inspection of Egyptian airports on January 11
Security inspection at the airports of Egyptian Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh will start on January 11, the press service of the Russian Transport Ministry has told Tass.
Earlier, Russia inspected only the safety of Cairo International Airport, which under the plans will be the first Egyptian airport to reopen for Russian citizens after suspension of flights in November 2015.
The ministry said Russian experts will begin inspecting the airports of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh starting from January 11.
Earlier, Tass sources said Russian aviation safety experts will head to Egypt’s cities of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada this week.
Russia’s Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov said earlier that Egypt’s aviation authorities had informed Russia they were ready for the visit of Russian experts who would review security measures at Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada airports.
Sokolov said that air service was most likely to be resumed in January 2017. In late December, Russian experts conducted another inspection of Cairo International Airport, particularly Terminal 2, which is planned to serve Russian citizens once flights, suspended after a Russian passenger plane’s crash over Sinai in October 2015, have been resumed.
Now the Russian Transport Ministry will prepare a report summing up the inspection. Russian experts are expected to conduct the final inspection of Cairo airport and fix the timeline for resuming the air service between the two countries on January 18-20.
Russia and Egypt have been holding talks on resuming air service since late 2015.
Russia suspended flights to Egypt in November 2015 following the crash of a Russian A321 passenger plane in Egypt.
An A321 passenger jet of Russia’s Kogalymavia air carrier (flight 9268) bound to St. Petersburg crashed on October 31, 2015, some 30 minutes after the takeoff from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh.
It fell down 100 kilometers south of the administrative center of North Sinai Governorate, the city of Al-Arish. The plane was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members. None survived. Investigation revealed that the crash was caused by a terrorist attack.
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