As it turned out, not everyone was in a hurry to sunbathe in Sharm El Sheikh
The first Russian plane carrying tourists since 2015 landed in Sharm El Sheikh on Monday, August 9. A truly solemn reception awaited the Russians: the entrance to the airport was decorated with Egyptian and Russian flags, and tourists were presented with bouquets of roses and souvenirs. Treats were prepared for the long-awaited guests and even a small concert was organized. Meanwhile, not everyone in Russia was satisfied with the resumption of flights with Egyptian resorts.
The plane from Russia landed at Sharm el-Sheikh airport at 15 hours 8 minutes Moscow time. Flights to Egyptian resorts were suspended in November 2015 after the death of 217 passengers and seven crew members of the Russian airline Kogalymavia, flying from Shar-el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg.
Governor of South Sinai Province Khaled Fuda, Honorary Consul of Russia in Sharm el-Sheikh Ahmed Sameri and Russian Ambassador to Egypt Georgy Borisenko arrived to meet the first Russian tourists. According to the Russian diplomat, the resumption of flights will help strengthen relations between the countries.
“Of course, when more and more Russians get to know Egyptians, and Egyptians get to know Russian citizens, this will help strengthen bilateral relations and make cooperation between our countries stronger and more diversified,” Borisenko said. “The flights of our tourists to Egyptian resorts will certainly help to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields.”
At the entrance to the airport building, Russian and Egyptian flags were also hung and a sign “Welcome back to Sharm el-Sheikh!” Was installed. Long-awaited tourists were presented with bouquets of roses and bags with souvenir products. Treats were prepared for the guests right at the airport and even a small concert was organized.
Flights from Moscow to Hurghada were resumed earlier. Currently, there are five flights per week in each direction. So far, the Federal Air Transport Agency has given permission for flights to the airlines “Russia” and EgyptAir, as well as the low-cost airline FlyEgypt.
At the same time, the resumption of flights with the resort cities of Egypt did not please all Russians. The event became the subject of heated discussions on social networks.
“They want to make money, no more,” said one of the Twitter users under the nickname @mika_grek. – And if necessary, they will shoot down another plane with our tourists. It’s time for us to become smarter. “
“They decided to forget the exploded plane,” said another user of the social network @coderzephyr.
Most Russians believed that the resumption of flights to Sharm el-Sheikh would further exacerbate the already difficult situation with the coronavirus pandemic.
“Are they flying for the next portion of the virus ?! Great, “wrote the Russian @Vicont_vic.
“We will soon have an Egyptian strain of coronavirus,” said @MilenaLuchemira.
Meanwhile, the rules for admission in Egypt have changed somewhat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, in order to travel to local resorts, Russians need to fill out the so-called “Declaration of Health” in English, provided by the airline employees on board the aircraft, and have either a negative PCR test or a Sputnik V vaccination certificate. In this case, the second vaccination must be done at least 14 days before the trip.
In Egypt itself, there are minimal restrictive measures. Restaurants, cafes and other catering establishments are open until 1 am, travel between cities is not limited in any way. However, the country has a strict mask regime.
Recall that in January 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the resumption of regular air traffic to Cairo. At the same time, charter flights with Egyptian resort cities remained closed as before. To restore it, the Egyptians improved the infrastructure of local airports, and also worked on ensuring their security, modernizing the system of screening and checking passengers and baggage. All this took place under the control of special Russian commissions.
See also: “Direct flights have opened to the resorts of Egypt: air ticket prices are going through the roof”
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