Russia to resume flights to Egypt, halted after 2015 bombing

Moscow suspended flights to Egypt after an Islamic State bomb brought down a Russian airliner over Sinai in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board. The attack decimated Egypt’s vital tourism industry.

In this November 2, 2015 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with transport Minister Maxim Sokolov in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, Russia. Putin said the crash of the Russian Airbus A321 in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula was a great tragedy and he called on investigators to build an "objective picture" of what happened.

Russia’s transportation minister says flights between Moscow and the Egyptian capital of Cairo are to resume in February after a two-year hiatus.

Moscow suspended flights to Egypt after an Islamic State bomb brought down a Russian airliner over Sinai in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board. The attack decimated Egypt’s vital tourism industry.

Maxim Sokolov said in comments on Russian state television on Friday that Egypt and Russia have yet to sign a security protocol but added that direct flights between Moscow and Cairo should resume in early February.

President Vladimir Putin on a visit to Cairo on Monday said the deal on the resumption of flights could be signed “in the nearest time.”

Mr. Sokolov says Russia isn’t talking about resuming charter flights to Egyptian resorts as yet.