Egypt kills 24 militants in Sinai near Russian plane crash site

MOSCOW-Russia’s state aviation agency on Friday banned Egypt’s national carrier from flying to Russia, a move that follows the suspension of all Russian flights to Egypt after a deadly crash.

Although Rosaviatsia declined to comment on the issue, staff at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport said that the agency had told them of the ban, which starts today.

While no official investigation has confirmed the militants’ claim of responsibility, several countries have cancelled flights to Sharm el-Sheikh and announced new precautions.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Thousands of holidaymakers were left stranded in the city by the Red Sea following the decision to suspend air links and beef up security measures in the wake of the tragic Russian Federation plane crash in Sinai.

“We are enjoying our time here and we will continue our vacation”, they said.

Other airlines have suspended flights from the United Kingdom to Sharm el Sheikh, including Monarch, easyJet and Thomson Airways, through November 25, the BBC reported.

The decision of Rosaviatsiya came after the crash of a Russian aircraft in Sinai Peninsula, which killed 224 people onboard.

But Russian Federation and Egypt said the statements were premature as the official crash probe has not concluded.

The incident prompted Russian Federation and a few other countries to impose severe restrictions on flights to and from Egypt, which have dealt a severe blow to Egypt’s tourism industry. “But we will feel safer if we left”, they said. Egypt says the country stands to lose $280 million a month as long as visitors stay away from country’s beaches and historic sites. “Search the wreckage of the plane, find your black box and analyze it”.

“We are willing to report anything that we know because the airport is where”, he said.

Officials had already banned domestic airlines from flying to anywhere in Egypt over concerns a bomb may have downed the Russian airliner that crashed shortly after taking off from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh two weeks ago.