Tourism Ministry Plans Return of Russian Flights to Marsa Alam, Orders Airport Security Check

Egypt's Minister of Tourism has revealed a plan to bring Russian charter flights back to Marsa Alam International Airport, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm. The report says a security inspection of the airport is part of the process.

Russian tourists were once among the largest visitor groups to Marsa Alam and the wider Red Sea coast, before charter flights from Russia were suspended following the 2015 Metrojet crash over Sinai. Flights to Sharm El-Sheikh and other Red Sea airports have gradually resumed in recent years as security arrangements were upgraded, though Marsa Alam has lagged behind other coastal airports in seeing that traffic return.

A renewed Russian route would be a significant boost for Marsa Alam's hotel sector, which has leaned heavily on European charter markets since the Russian downturn. Local hoteliers have flagged Russian demand as a way to diversify occupancy beyond the German, Polish and British markets that currently dominate bookings in the area.

Al-Masry Al-Youm's report does not give a target date for the flights to resume, name an airline, or specify how many routes or weekly frequencies are planned. Marsa Alam's airport has been logging record European arrivals this summer, according to the site's own recent coverage.