Turkish Airlines extends cancellation of flights to Sharm

The airport official, who requested anonymity, said the ban on EgyptAir flights would take effect on Saturday.

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Turkish Airlines suspends flights to Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt).

Rosaviatsia declined to comment on the matter but the Russian media claimed the move is meant to ensure that safety requirements are satisfied, while the Russian ambassador to Cairo said it is for “temporary security measures“.

“Egyptian civil aviation authorities carry out contacts with the Russian side to clarify the reasons, which motivated it to make this decision [on flight cancellation]”, Kamal told reporters.

“We are surprised by this announcement and express our opposition”, he said, demanding a “quick reconsideration of the Russian decision, which is damaging the image of our company and the interests of passengers“.

EgyptAir, which runs three direct flights to Moscow a week, said on its official Twitter account that Saturday’s flight to Moscow has been canceled after official notification from Moscow’s airport.

The news comes a week after Moscow halted Russian flights to and from Egypt as fears mounted that the Metrojet Airbus crash in the Sinai Peninsula may have been caused by a bomb. Moscow banned Russian airlines flying to Egypt after a possible terrorist downing of a passenger plane on October 31 which killed 224 Russian tourists and crew.

Russia’s biggest airline Aeroflot is not planning to resume flights till March 27 next year at the earliest, according to the company.