Cairo Airport receives positive assessment from Russian experts
Maxim Sokolov, head of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, reports that “...A lot of work has been done by the Egyptian side to strengthen the standards of aviation and transport security of Egyptian airports, primarily Cairo airport.” Our experts, having examined the security situation in Cairo Airport Terminal 2 several times, give a positive analysis of what they saw.
The official “bypassed” the question of whether he is going at a future meeting of the presidents of Russia and Egypt to recommend the possibility of air communication.
At the end of July, the Egyptian side was optimistic about the next inspection of the country’s airports by experts from Russia, the commission “remained satisfied with what was seen.” The approval of the Russian delegation was caused by the biometric system of access of employees to “vital” points of the air harbor – the runway, luggage and cargo compartments of aircraft, the introduction of which was insisted on by Russian services.
“Russian specialists highly appreciated the measures introduced by the administration, especially the biometric control system,” a Cairo airport official told Al Youm El Sabea. Specialists from Russia checked the measures taken to ensure the safety of passengers, baggage and the process of its delivery to aircraft.
The biometric access was called a "stumbling block" at an inspection in February. Departure and arrival lounges were checked in terminal number two, through which the first flights to Egypt on the Cairo-Moscow line will be opened. According to representatives of Egypt, Russian experts for the first time “had no significant remarks.”
As expected by the tourist market, the optimism of the Egyptian side turned out to be premature – air traffic between Russia and Egyptian resorts in 2017 will not be started, until the new year the country will not open. Russian officials are unsure about the security of Egyptian airports. According to sources in diplomatic circles, “in 2017, charter flights to Egypt will not be resumed.” There is optimism only about Cairo – in fact, it is already ready to receive the Russians in terms of security. A "conditional agreement" on the opening of the airport was promised by October, but everything depends on the political situation in Egypt and the "principled decisions" of the Russian side.
“In the first phase, flights will be open only to Cairo. These will only be regular flights. There is no question of opening charter flights to the resort areas of Egypt. Over time, when there is an understanding that Egypt is ready to increase traffic volumes and ensure aviation security requirements, the question may arise about the next inspections and the possibility of opening flights to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.
Source: tourprom