Flights from Russia to Egypt’s Red Sea Resorts Resume

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to allow flights from Russia to Egypt’s Red Sea resorts to resume for the first time in more than 6 years.

Putin implemented a ban on flights to Egypt following a serious aircraft incident in 2015 at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. However, he later decided to relax the restrictions after the Egyptian government allocated a large budget to improve security measures at its airports.

Regular flights from Moscow to Cairo resumed in 2018 after an extensive round of safety inspections. And Putin has now confirmed that flights to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula will operate once again following security upgrades at these regional airports.

Egypt Welcomes Russia’s Decision

The decision to resume flights from Russia to Egypt was made following an April 23rd phone call between Putin and the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. 

A statement issued by the Egyptian President’s office confirmed that El-Sissi warmly welcomed the decision and that flights would resume as soon as some minor technical issues were ironed out.  “In view of the joint work to ensure high standards of aviation security in Egyptian airports that has been completed, a principal agreement was reached to restore full-format air links between Russia and Egypt”, it said.

Russian aircraft carriers are already eagerly planning to reopen their routes to Egypt and reap the benefits. During the recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Mikhail Poluboyarinov, CEO of Aeroflot, also welcomed the news. “This is a route with vast potential. It will help the company a great deal,”  he commented.

Russia is traditionally a large source of tourist income for Egypt, and it is hoped that the easing of the restrictions could lead to roughly 300,000 – 400,000 Russian tourist arrivals in Egypt per month. This could be a huge boost to the Egpytian tourist economy, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in the previous year.

Russians Can Now Get an Egyptian Visa Online

Now that Russian can travel to the Red Sea resorts once more, they will find it is much easier to obtain a visa for Egypt than it was in 2015 as an electronic tourist visa for Egypt has since been implemented.

The e-Visa for Egypt was introduced in December 2017 and is available through a simple online application that only takes a few minutes to complete with basic personal, passport, and travel details.

The Egypt eVisa requirements for Russian citizens are easy to meet. Applicants are simply required to have a passport valid for at least 6 months from the expected date of arrival and a confirmed accommodation booking in Egypt.

An Egyptian e-Visa for Russians may be issued for either a single entry or multiple entries depending on the needs of the traveler. Once approved, it is electronically linked to the applicant’s passport and allows a total stay of 30 days for tourism per entry to Egypt.