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Ukraine not planning to suspend air service with Egypt — foreign minister

KIEV, November 8. /TASS/. Ukraine is not suspending air service with Egypt after a Russian airplane crash in Sinai that claimed the lives of 224 people, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin said on Sunday.

"We are closely watching the situation and stay in contact with our State Aviation Service, which thinks we can continue making flights to Egyptian airports," he told the Inter television channel. "The timetable of flights is unchanged."

However "we are ready to activate an evacuation plan" in case the security situation worsens, he said.

According to the Ukrainian foreign minister, about 4,000 Ukrainian are currently vacationing in Egypt. "Contact with all travel operators has been established. Security measures have been tightened. There is a recommendation to by-fly Sinai," he said.

In the meantime, Russia has temporarily banned flights to Egypt for security considerations.

An A321 passenger jet of Russia’s Kogalymavia air carrier [flight 9268] bound to St. Petersburg crashed on October 31 some 30 minutes after the takeoff from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh. It fell down 100 kilometers south of the administrative center of North Sinai Governorate, the city of Al-Arish. The plane was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members. There were four Ukrainian and one Belarusian nationals among the passengers. None survived.