Egypt and Israel will operate direct flights between Tel Aviv and Sharm El Sheikh for the first time starting next month under an agreement made between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Bennett said in a statement. EgyptAir in October opened a flight route between Cairo and Tel Aviv shortly after Bennett made a trip to Egypt, marking the first visit by an Israeli PM in over a decade. It is unclear whether the new route will also be operated by EgyptAir.

Our Red Sea tourism could do with a boost after Russia’s war in Ukraine dealt a blow to two of our most important markets, which account for about a third of our inbound tourism by volume. Direct flights from Russia to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada had just been reinstated last summer after a six-year-hiatus, before the war prompted both countries to close off their airspaces.