Egypt, Russia resume flights halted after 2015 attack

Egypt and Russia resumed direct flights Thursday, more than two-and-a-half years after they were suspended in the wake of a bombing that brought down a Russian passenger plane over the Sinai Peninsula. EgyptAir said its Moscow-bound flight took off from Cairo on Thursday and that it will operate three such flights a week. Earlier, an Aeroflot flight from Moscow carrying 124 passengers arrived in Cairo. The move comes after prolonged negotiations, multiple Egyptian airport inspections and inking of security agreements to bring Russian tourists back to Egypt to revive the country's reeling industry. Moscow suspended flights after the 2015 attack, which killed all 224 people on board and was claimed by the extremist Islamic State group. The decision dealt Egypt's tourism industry a severe blow since the country relied heavily on the influx of Russian tourists. "Even though air service between Russia and Egypt has been interrupted for such a long time, the load factor on upcoming flights is more than 85%," Aeroflot said, adding that both airlines would offer daily flights from June 12 to July 2 to cope with heavy demand.<br/>