All Egypt Air Flights to Russian Federation Banned

Earlier on Friday, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) sent a telegram to Moscow’s Domodedovo airport where Egypt Air had been making three flights a week.

An affiliate of the extremist group Islamic State in the Sinai peninsula claimed responsibility for downing the airliner as revenge for Russia’s airstrike campaign against Islamic State in Syria. Russians flying home from Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh are barred from checking in luggage and are only allowed carry-on luggage.

The move follows Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend all Russian flights to Egypt after the crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt on October 31 that killed all 224 people on board.

Zaazou said Russian-Egyptian relations are strong, as Moscow has been receiving EgyptAir flights for over 50 years.

According to union spokeswoman Irina Tyurina, the losses resulted from tour operators being required to fly empty planes to Egypt to evacuate Russian tourists.

Following the crash, several countries, including the United Kingdom, halted flights to and from the resort due to intelligence concerns – stranding thousands of holidaymakers.

Kamal also stressed that the original tape would not be transported out of Egypt, which has been leading the investigation alongside representatives from other nations, including Russian Federation, France, Germany and Ireland.

Russia’s action, effective from Saturday, is a further blow to Egypt’s tourism industry.

“One of the main possible versions of the (Russian plane’s) crash was a terrorist act”, it said. He said, “All passenger aircraft nowadays carry cargo as well, which often comes as a completely sealed unit, and the concern is that at airports like Sharm security, is lax around cargo”.

The most recent news posted to EgyptAir’s website was dated November 7 and informed customers of “the operation of all flights as scheduled to all Egyptian Airports with no planned delays of cancelation [sic]”.