Russia coordinates with Egypt evacuation of tourists, security issues - deputy PM

"The Egyptian friends have undertaken first steps, the military control all procedures of registration for flights, they are at the airport in Sharm el-Sheikh, at other airports" said Dvorkovich

Russia has been coordinating with Egypt two issues: the first is how the Emergencies Ministry and aviation carriers are delivering tourists and their luggage.

"We receive full support from the Egyptian counterparts," Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters after the government's meeting on suspended flights to Egypt.

"The second issue is the work on further security; our experts are flying to Egypt," he said. "They will be working with the Egyptian counterparts; this agreement has been reached already, and then it will take some time, like it was said yesterday, from several days to several weeks to settle all respective issues. I hope with goodwill from the parties mutual understanding will be found."

The deputy prime minister said Egypt’s military are controlling check-in procedures at the airports.

"The Egyptian friends have undertaken first steps, the military control all procedures of registration for flights, they are at the airport in Sharm el-Sheikh, at other airports and they are minimising the lack of control, which, as tourists say, earlier was seen at some airports; we can see the goodwill of our friends, colleagues to exclude life or security threats," he said.

"The luggage transportation will be made by planes of the Emergencies Ministry and other planes, and the delivery from Moscow the aviation companies, the passengers took," he said.

"The security measures at Moscow airports have been improved for quite a time now, and they are sufficient," the deputy prime minister said.

The suspension of flights to Egypt

On Friday, November 6, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin supported recommendations of the national anti-terror committee to suspend flights to Egypt. The presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov explained the flights will be suspended not to end of investigation into crash of Kagalymavia’s plane, but until necessary security is provided. Putin ordered organisation of support to Russian nationals’ return home from Egypt.

From 10p.m. Moscow time on Friday, all regular, transit and chartered flights from Russia to Egypt, carrying passengers, were suspended.

The deputy prime minister, who is head of the government’s commission on suspended flights to Egypt, said about 80,000 Russian citizens were staying in Egypt, mostly in Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

Russian Kogalymavia’s A321 plane, en-route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, crashed in the early morning of October 31 just some 20 minutes after its takeoff. The disaster site is 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of the administrative centre of North Sinai Governorate, the city of Al-Arish.

Flight 9268 carried 217 passengers and seven crewmembers and they were all officially announced dead following the tragic accident. Most passengers were Russian nationals. Among the passengers onboard were also four Ukrainian citizens and one Belarusian national.