by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:29 AM ET, Mon November 16, 2015
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
The Russian government has suspended all direct flights by Egyptian airlines from Egypt to Russia.
According to The Associated Press, EgyptAir was the last airline offering direct flights between Egypt and Russia, and the company received a telegram from Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency to halt all service to the country starting Saturday, Nov. 14.
The news comes on the heels of Russia banning all airlines in the country from flying to Egypt.
The decision for Russia to cut flight ties with Egypt indefinitely is a result of the MetroJet plane crash on Oct. 31 which killed 224 passengers. The investigation is still ongoing, but there is speculation that it could have been an organized terrorist attack.
Russia's Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov told RT.com that flights to Egypt would be halted for several months until the African nation can drastically improve its airport security systems. Aeroflot-Russia's biggest airline-says it will not resume flights to Egypt until March 27, 2016, at the earliest.
Egypt's Tourism Minister Hisham Zazou also told RT.com that the country would lose $280 million a month from the flight bans by Russia and the United Kingdom. There are also around 34,000 Russian citizens who live in Egypt, causing difficulty for the potential travelers.
Despite the flight bans, RT.com is reporting Russians are still doing what they can to visit the historic country. Two of the most searched queries online in Russia have been, "How to get to Egypt by train" and "How to get to Egypt by car."
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
