Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said in a speech in front of the Russian Federation Council on Tuesday that he is confident that direct Russian flights will return soon to Egyptian cities besides Cairo.
"Our efforts to resume direct flights between Cairo and Moscow ended in success after the visit by President Putin to Egypt in December 2017. I am confident that given the positive spirit between the two countries, direct flights to other Egyptian cities will resume," the Egyptian president said, adding that the resumption of flights will help restore the flow of Russian tourists.
Russia has traditionally supplied the highest number of tourists to Egypt annually before flights were suspended in 2015 following the deadly crash of a Russian airliner in Sinai.
Direct flights between Cairo and Moscow were resumed in April 2018.
President El-Sisi spoke in his speech about the close relationship between Egypt and Russia, who have enjoyed 75 years of official diplomatic relations.
"Russia was the first to help Egypt restore its occupied territories. Egypt also won t forget Russia s contribution in its battle for development, as it helped [Egypt] build the high dam and other megaprojects," he said.
