Earlier yesterday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi made a surprise visit to the Sharm el-Sheikh airport.
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“We do not want to rush the investigation of the Russian plane [crash]”.
Russian Federation stopped all flights to all destinations in Egypt two days after Britain halted flights to Sharm el Sheikh amid fears that the aircraft was downed by a bomb.
Zaazou said the government would seek to make up for the loss of worldwide business by encouraging domestic tourism, as well as encouraging Gulf Arab visitors and easing visa requirements for tourists from North Africa.
USA and British officials have cited intelligence reports as indicating the passenger plane was probably caused by a bomb on board.
United States of America air carriers for years have avoided flying into or out of Sharm al-Sheikh airport because of longstanding worries about security at the facility, U.S. officials said.
In a TV interview, Sisi urged not to jump to conclusions over the Russian plane crash amid the ongoing investigation.
Egypt’s civil aviation minister says the final seven seconds of the cockpit voice recording from the Russian plane that crashed on October 31 in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula will be sent to a country that has the capabilities to analyze it.
“At least we had the option to change our plans, but those poor people on that flight didn’t, and my heart goes out to their families”, she told the Press.
Cyprus is as well seen as an alternative choice to Egypt, with increasing interest from traveling tourists since the crash in Sinai, as Cyprus Minister of Tourism Giorgos Lakkotrypis told the parliament.
Representatives for the FBI said that the bureau had offered both Egyptian and Russian crash investigators forensic assistance and other investigative help, but as of Thursday its offers had not been accepted.
Eastern European visitors, also including people from former Soviet satellite states like Ukraine, made up a crucial 45 percent of all tourist arrivals in June, according to Egyptian government statistics.
Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) said on Thursday it planned to increase the frequency of its flights from the kingdom to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from February 2016.
A staggering 80 per cent of holiday bookings to Sharm el-Sheikh have been cancelled since the tragedy and the country is predicted to lose more than £180million each MONTH from lost bookings.
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“I cannot say yet how long commercial flights to Egypt will stay suspended”, the Kremlin’s chief of staff Sergei Ivanov said, adding that “it could be several months”. “We are answering a few questions and trying to be helpful”, he said.
