Egypt's national carrier EgyptAir said Friday (March 16th) it would resume direct flights between Cairo and Moscow, three years after they were halted following the bombing of a Russian charter jet over Sinai, AFP reported.
The announcement came three days after Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot said it would restart flights between the two capitals from April 11th.
EgyptAir flights are set to resume the following day.
Both companies suspended the route in October 2015 after an airliner operated by Russia's Kogalymavia, carrying holidaymakers from the south Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, crashed, killing all 224 people on board.
The “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) claimed the attack.
Safwat Musallam, head of EgyptAir Holding, said on Friday the carrier planned to operate three Cairo-Moscow flights a week. Aeroflot is planning the same number of flights.
The Russian airline said Tuesday that Egypt had met its demands for stricter security measures.
The year after the attack on the Russian airliner, Egypt received 5.4 million tourists, down from 14.7 million in 2010.
Last year, the number of visitors was up to 8.3 million.
"There's a very large increase in reservations this year and the demand for Egypt is very robust, especially in the German market," said Ali Okda, CEO of Travco Travel Company of Egypt.
