Aeroflot, the only Russian carrier operating flights from Moscow to Cairo, will increase the number and capacity of flights on this route from April 26, said Andrey Panov, deputy general director for strategy, service and marketing.
The carrier will supply more spacious wide-body aircraft to this direction, due to which the number of seats will be increased to 8.5 thousand per month. So “Aeroflot” intends to satisfy the demand of Russians for travel to Egypt against the background of the suspension of flights with Turkey.
“We really record an increase in demand in the Egyptian direction and plan, in this regard, to increase the carrying capacity on the Moscow-Cairo route,” RBC quotes Panov on Friday, April 16.
According to Anna Podgornaya, general director of the tour operator Pegas Touristik, Egypt is one of the most popular year-round destinations among Russians, who, after the closure of Turkey, do not have enough beach holiday offers.
Podgornaya noted that Nordwind airline, cooperating with the tour operator, is ready to start flights to Egyptian resorts within a week after receiving permission from the Russian authorities.
A spokesman for Azur Air said the airline has been accredited and is awaiting permission from the Egyptian authorities.
On April 15, Russia limited air traffic with Turkey and Tanzania until June 1 due to the worsening situation with coronavirus infection in these countries.
The head of the Federal Tourism Agency Zarina Doguzova said that now there are about 50 thousand Russian tourists in Turkey who have bought vouchers through tour operators. At the same time, about 4 thousand Russians are currently vacationing in Tanzania.
As for Egypt, air traffic between Russia and this country was interrupted after the A321 Kogalymavia plane crashed over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, 2015, which Moscow recognized as a terrorist attack and imposed a complete ban on Russian companies’ flights to the country. In January 2018, President Vladimir Putin relaxed the ban by allowing flights to Cairo.