Russian experts start checking Cairo airport security

A team of Russian experts arrived in Cairo on Monday to launch checks into security measures at the Egyptian capital’s airport.

The El Fagr newspaper said the outcome of this trip will make it clear how soon the air service between Russia and Egypt will be restored.

On Tuesday, the delegation led by deputy head of transport security department of Russia’s federal air transport agency Rosaviatsiya, Oleg Sotnikov, will begin inspecting the Cairo airport.

Egypt’s Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Hossam Kamal held a meeting on Sunday attended by air transport security experts and representatives of relevant agencies.

The minister stressed the importance of adhering to strict rules of control and checks of the baggage at the country’s airports and also complying with security measures which have been significantly tightened.

If Russian experts in Cairo find any violations in the work of certain services or companies of the airport, they will be deprived of licenses. This mainly concerns cargo operations and airline meals, he said.

Similar security checks were conducted with the participation of British experts on January 10-14 at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

The issue of strengthening security measures at Egyptian airports emerged after a Russian passenger jet crashed over Egypt’s northern Sinai on October 31, 2015. Russia suspended air service with Egypt after the air crash.

The A321 passenger jet of Russia’s Kogalymavia air carrier (flight 9268) bound to St. Petersburg crashed 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.

In mid-November, it was announced that the crash had been caused by an act of terror committed by means of a home-made explosive device with a yield of up to one kilogram of TNT.