EgyptAir to resume Cairo-Moscow flights on April 12

CAIRO, March 16 (Xinhua) -- EgyptAir, the flag carrier of Egypt, announced on Friday it will resume direct flights to Russia's Moscow as of April 12 after more than a two-year halt.

Flights will operate three times a week on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Chairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding Company, Safwat Musallam, said in a brief statement.

The announcement came days after Russian Aeroflot airliner announced it will resume regular flights from Moscow to Cairo as of April 11.

Flights between the two countries were suspended after an Airbus A321 plane crashed over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, 2015, en route from Egypt's Sharm al-Sheikh city to St. Petersburg city in Russia. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash.

At the time, Moscow said that the airliner crashed due to a terrorist bomb attack. During his visit to Egypt in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country is ready to resume direct flights between Cairo and Moscow, pointing out the Russian Federal Security Agency reported that the Russian side can resume air traffic. Enditem