Rosaviatsiya starts examining suspension of flights with Egypt
MOSCOW. Nov 6 (Interfax) - The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) has started examining the suspension of air communication with Egypt, agency chief Alexander Neradko said on Friday.
The head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, suggested earlier on Friday that Russian flights to Egypt should be suspended until the inquiry into the Kogalymavia A321 plane crash in Sinai is complete. "This primarily concerns tourist channels," Bortnikov said. The Russian president's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters later that Vladimir Putin had agreed with these recommendations and told the government to develop implementation mechanisms and ensure the repatriation of Russian citizens.
"This statement is made by the Russian FSB chief who is competent in the substance of this statement. This statement was published recently and has only now been received by Rosaviatsiya, and we have now started planning the implementation of this proposal," Neradko said at a Rosaviatsiya briefing.
"This issue will certainly be discussed with the tourist community. We have already started the discussion of this issue with the top managers of airline companies who attended the meeting on the Boeing 737 [a Rosaviatsiya meeting on the Inter-State Aviation Committee's letter recalling the Boeing 737 type certificate, not on the situation in Egypt). We have already begun this work," the agency chief said.
According to Russia's Federal Agency for the Tourism Industry, over two million Russian tourists visited Egypt in January-October 2015. Egypt is the second most popular destination among Russian holiday-makers after Turkey.
