Moscow receives no Egypt’s response to recommendations on air security

SKOLKOVO, June 3. /TASS/. Russia has not yet received Egypt’s response to its recommendations on airport security, Russia’s Rosaviatsiya federal air transport agency Alexander Neradko said on Friday.

"We handed our recommendations to our Egyptian colleagues - our so-called remarks, proposals on strengthening security measures. These are not only organizational measures, but they also envisage purchasing, setting up additional equipment and putting it into operation. This is a capital-intensive process, and it is lengthy. We have not yet received a formalized response to our proposals from our Egyptian colleagues," Neradko said.

He added that Egypt takes into account Russia’s proposals and seriously works on this issue.

Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said earlier that Egyptian airports pledged to fulfill Russia’s demands on security by the end of the first half of 2016. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said earlier this week that it is premature to talk about resuming air service with Egypt so far. Dvorkovich noted that it is first necessary to wait for Egypt to fulfill all Russia’s demands on ensuring security at airports.

Russia suspended air service with Egypt after a Russian passenger plane crashed over Sinai last October. The A321 plane belonging to Russia’s air company Kogalymavia was en route from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to St. Petersburg in Russia (flight KGL 9268) when it crashed over the Sinai Peninsula early on October 31 last year.

The plane fell near El Hasna populated locality 100km to the south of Al-Arish, the administrative center of the North Sinai Governorate (province). All the 224 people onboard, including 217 passengers and the seven-member crew, died. The passengers, most of whom were Russians, also included four Ukrainians and one citizen of Belarus.

Russian Federal Security Service said the plane crashed as a result of a terrorist attack.