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EgyptAir plane hijack

Ministry: Too early to make conclusions on resuming air service with Egypt after hijaking

Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov previously said that Russian specialists will once again check airport security in Egypt in April

© Alexandr Demyanchuk/TASS

EgyptAir plane hijack

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. Russian Transport Ministry is expecting more detailed information about the hijacking of EgyptAir’s Airbus A320, and it is too early to make conclusions about resuming air service with Egypt, Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov told TASS on Tuesday.

"There is no information yet, we need to get it. It is too early to talk about this," Okulov said in a response to a question on whether the hijacking will affect the possible resumption of air service between Russia and Egypt.

Okulov confirmed that Moscow will send Russian specialists to Egypt to check airport security but said "there is no concrete date yet."

Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov previously said that Russian specialists will once again check airport security in Egypt in April. He noted that all Egyptian airports will be checked, including the one in Cairo.

An EgyptAir plane en route from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked earlier today. The plane with at least 80 people onboard landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus at 8:50am local time. The Cypriot Foreign Ministry said that the hijacker is Egyptian national Seif Eldin Musrafa. It was initially reported that he may have a bomb but the information was not confirmed.

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