Direct flights between Russia and Egypt are set to resume in June, Russian ambassador to Egypt Georgiy Borisenko told Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi yesterday. Russian tour operators have begun visiting the governorate to coordinate group trips for tourists, Hanafi told Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi. There will also be twice-weekly flights between Hurghada and Moscow in addition to the resumption of charter flights to Egypt’s tourist resorts, according to the governor (watch, runtime: 6:25). Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar Anba had initially suggested that flights could resume during the first week of May, while Russia’s Interfax agency said charter flights could return by 10 May.

This timeline could shift if the covid-19 situation takes a turn for the worse in Egypt or Russia, Borisenko said, noting that Russia is also looking at the pandemic alongside “security-related issues” at Egypt’s airports, according to Russian news agency Tass. Russia has made the resumption of flights to Egypt contingent on all tourism workers being vaccinated, Egyptian Hotels Association member Ramy Fayez said, according to Masrawy. The Health Ministry began inoculating tourism workers last month, with Minister Hala Zayed saying that tourism workers in Sharm El Sheikh and South Sinai are set to be fully vaccinated by the end of May.