UPDATE2: Egyptair: Restart of flight connection with Russia postponed to Apr

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MOSCOW, Feb 20 (PRIME) -- Resumption of direct air travel between Moscow and Cairo has been postponed to April from mid-February because too few tickets were sold, air company Egyptair told PRIME on Tuesday.

“As there are no enough reservations from the Russian side, the company has decided to postpone the start of air connection to the beginning of the summer season, April 1,” Egyptair’s PR Director Dina El-Fouly said.

A spokesperson for Russia’s Transport Ministry told PRIME that all political decisions necessary to resume the flights have been made and all technical issues resolved.

She said that the delay is linked to economic reasons only and there are no other circumstances preventing the air travel resumption.

Egyptian business portal Aliqtisadi reported citing sources in the local aviation ministry that the governments of Russia and Egypt continue intensive consultations and preparatory works, but flights are unlikely to be started earlier than in April.

A source in the airport of Cairo told PRIME that no flights between the cities are scheduled for Tuesday. It also said that tickets to Moscow are not sold or reserved.

On December 15, Russia and Egypt signed an agreement on security in Egyptian airports that will allow the two countries to restart air travel suspended in 2015 after a crash of a Russian plane over the Sinai Peninsula.

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