Russia lifts ban on flights to Egypt boosting Cairo’s tourism hopes |

MOSCOW – President Vladimir Putin lifted Russia’s ban on charter flights to Egypt on Thursday, six years after suspending them for national security after a plane crash.

The move is expected to be a boon to Egypt’s year-round resorts in Sharm al-Sheikh and Hurghada, which have attracted many Russians in the past.

Flights were suspended after a Metrojet plane carrying Russian vacationers from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg crashed over the Sinai Peninsula in October 2015, killing 224 people.

Russia concluded that the plane was destroyed by a bomb. A group of extremists from the Islamic State (IS) accepted responsibility.

The attack was a severe blow to Egypt’s important tourism industry, which was also affected by the unrest following the 2011 popular uprising. The Egyptian authorities have since spent millions of dollars improving security at their airports in hopes of convincing Moscow to change its mind.

The resumption would be vital to Egypt’s tourism sector, which was dealt another blow by the coronavirus pandemic last year. In the Red Sea resorts, restrictions have been eased to attract foreign visitors.

A file photo shows a tourist walking past sun loungers on a beach in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm El-SheikhA on the Red Sea. (AFP)

In early May, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled El-Enany, said the country was optimistic about welcoming more visitors this year, with the number rising steadily to around half a million tourists a month since January.

Revenue from tourism, a major source of foreign currency for Egypt, plunged 70% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism typically accounts for up to 15% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Monthly tourism revenue was about $ 500,000, half of what it was before the pandemic. However, Egypt is hoping to recover by the end of the year if it aims to vaccinate tourism staff at resorts along the Red Sea and designate the area as a COVID-free travel destination, Enany said.

Egypt and Russia agreed in April in a meeting between their presidents Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Vladimir Putin to resume all flights between the two countries, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Until 2015, Russian nationals made up the largest visitor segment with around 3.5 million visitors per year.