Egypt, Russia sign protocol before resumption of flights
Fri, 17/02/2017 - 15:26 Egypt Independent
http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/egypt-russia-sign-protocol-resumption-flights

The Russian government has ratified a protocol with Egypt on maintaining the
safety and security of civil aviation, the Russian government announced in a
statement on its official website.

The protocol assigns Russian aviation experts to monitor the degree of
commitment to safety procedures at Egyptian airports, according to the
statement.

The resumption of flights between the two countries depends on Egypt's
commitment to the safety and security measures stated in the protocol, the
statement added.

In October of 2015, the tourism sector received a deadly blow from the
downing of a Russian airplane, prompting international charter agencies to
cancel their flights to Egypt.

Several countries then demanded that certain security measures be
implemented at Egyptian airports for the resumption of direct flights to be
considered.

Russia, which had halted all flights to and from Egypt after the 2015
incident, sent several Russian expert delegations in 2016 to inspected the
security measures at Egyptian airports.

Meanwhile, after making a deal with British security firm Control Risks for
a complete overhaul of airport security operations, the Egyptian government
has invited experts from several nations to inspect security arrangements
now in place at all its international airports.

Egypt and Russia's ministries of aviation agreed in September 2016 on the
development of a joint agreement that states safety measures that should be
followed by Egypt to resume flights.