Egypt's Cairo International Airport is prepared to open a terminal designated for Russian aircraft, the press attaché of the Egyptian Embassy to Russia Ayman Mousa said, the TASS news agency reported Friday.
“Experts from Russia and the whole world have highly assessed it. The minister of civil aviation said that we will receive your [Russian] aircraft at the terminal,” Mousa said. Egypt has offered to discuss such a terminal once the number of Russian tourists reaches an, as yet undefined, level.
Russian Transport Minister Maxim Solokov has previously stated that air service will resume once Egypt increases airport security.
On Friday, Solokov said that the opening of the terminal “depends on our Egyptian colleagues.” Analysis on the terminal’s security by Russian specialists will form the basis for Russian leaders’ decision on lifting the Egypt flight ban, he added.
On Oct. 31, 2015, an Airbus A321 was downed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula while en route to St. Petersburg — all 224 people on board were killed. Two weeks after the crash, the FSB announced that a terror attack had caused the plane crash.
Russia banned all passenger flights to Egypt in November 2015, and Russian tourism to Egypt suffered a subsequent decline of 46 percent.
