Cairo International Airport has received the first Russian flight from Moscow on Thursday after two years of suspension following a presidential decree signed by Russian President Vladamir Putin allowing Russian flights to resume their trips to Egypt.
The decision comes two years after a Russian plane crashed in Egypt’s North Sinai in October 2015 killing 224 passengers. The crash happened shortly after the plane took off from Sharm al-Sheikh airport killing seven crew members, among the dead.
Investigations are still ongoing until today to identify the reason behind the attack. While international media reported that the reason behind the attack is related to terrorism, local media have cited the possibilities of “a bomb and mechanical failure”, quoting Egyptian local authorities.
Following the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a recommendation by the Federal Security Service to suspend all flights to Egypt. He also ordered all organisations to return Russians back home from Egypt.
Tourism sector represents the main source of foreign currency income in the country in addition to being an important building block to stabilizing Egypt’s economy.
Egypt’s tourism sector has been struggling for many years. Also, the suspension of Russian aeroplanes has affected the tourism industry in the country. Now, with the Russian tourists coming back to Egypt there are high hopes for a boom in the tourism industry.
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