Moscow has asked for Russian officers to deploy at Egyptian airports in return for resuming flights to Egypt, which have been suspended since a Russian jet crashed over Sinai.
A senior official at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism said that Moscow has asked for Russian officers to deploy at Egyptian airports in return for resuming flights to Egypt, according to al-Araby al-Jadeed. Russian flights to Egypt were suspended since the Russian airliner crashed over Sinai.
The Egyptian official said that Egypt is currently reviewing security procedures at a number of airports used by tourists in areas like Sharm el-Sheikh and will look into the Russian request before making an announcement in August.
He added that a new airport security company was created in collaboration with a private term and a British security.However, the Egyptian government still refuses the presence of foreign security to ensure the safety in Egyptian airports said the official.
Both the British and Russian governments have banned their airlines from travelling to Sharm al-Sheikh for security concerns after the bombing of a Russian passenger jet in October 2015 killing all 224 people on board. Sinai Province- a group affiliated with the Islamic State- has claimed their responsibility for downing the Russian plane. But Egyptian authorities are yet to confirm the cause of the crash.
Russian and British tourists accounted for nearly 50%of total tourists visiting the country each year. In 2010, more than 14.7 million tourists visited Egypt. In 2011, the number of tourism dropped to 9.8 million following the January Revolution that led to the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt’s tourism is one of the major sources of foreign currency in the country that suffers from an economic crisis due to the shortage of foreign currency. The number of tourists fell 40% in the first quarter of 2016. In addition, Egypt has received a major blow in May when an Egypt Air plane crashed into the Mediterranean, killing all 66 people on board. The cause of the crash is still unknown.
