Germany has removed the last restriction on the flow of tourist flights to and from South Sinai and the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egyptian media reported Tuesday (January 24th).
Germany's Federal Ministry of Transport issued an announcement removing a restriction that required German airlines to fly at an altitude of above 26,000 feet over Sinai.
This is a first for aviation services to Egypt since the downing of a passenger jet over Sinai in October 2015, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The move will allow German airliners to fly directly to Sharm el-Sheikh airport without paying extra insurance fees, the statement said.
The decision came as a result of intense efforts by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and by the Egyptian embassy in Berlin, to strengthen the flow of German tourists to Egypt.
Germany topped the number of tourists visiting Egypt in 2016 with 655,000 tourists, the ministry said, with around 125 flights arriving from Germany to different tourist areas in Egypt.
