Aeroflot will resume flying to Egypt in April, over two years after a bomb on a Russian Metrojet tourist flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to Moscow killed everybody on board. Russia suspended passenger flights to Egypt after the crash which the FSB security service said was caused by a homemade explosive device. Aeroflot said "a significant increase in security measures was required to reinstate flights between the two countries." It said the requirements have been met on the Egyptian side and President Putin signed a decree in January allowing flights to restart. Aeroflot will operate three Moscow-Cairo flights per week from April 11, with daily flights between June 12 and July 2 during the World Cup which is being held in Russia. <br/>
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Passengers on a Delta flight got a dramatic reminder about the dangers of lithium-ion batteries Monday. A member of the cabin crew brought a burned toiletry bag that contained a lithium battery to show passengers just how dangerous putting them in cargo can be. The FAA has strict rules about carrying such batteries on flights but doesn't prohibit lithium-ion batteries altogether from cargo holds. FAA packing guidelines instruct passengers to keep loose "spare/uninstalled batteries" with them in the aircraft cabin, and that "devices containing lithium metal or lithium ion batteries (laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.) should be carried in carry-on baggage when possible." <br/>
Delta CE Ed Bastian says the airline would be a "prime launch candidate" for Boeing's proposed New Mid-market Airplane. The carrier is in discussions on the potential aircraft with Bastian meeting with Boeing executives to discuss it last week. The NMA family will seat 220-270 passengers with a range of roughly 9,260km when it enters service, which Boeing expects in the 2024-25 timeframe. Delta will need to replace its 127 757s and 79 767s, two aircraft the NMA is targeted as a replacement for, in the second half of the next decade. Boeing has yet to officially launch the programme, though it created a dedicated office to study and develop the NMA in September 2017. <br/>