Kuwait, Azerbaijan to launch direct flights to Sharm el-Sheikh

Kuwait and Azerbaijan have announced the launch of new direct flights to Egypt's resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, according to Egypt's state-run daily al-Ahram.

The decisions come in an attempt to boost Egypt's tourism, which had received a severe blow after a Russian airliner crashed in Sinai on 31 October, killing all 224 passengers and crew on board.

Kuwaiti information minister Sheikh Salman al-Hamoud al-Sabah, who concluded his visit to Cairo on Sunday night, announced that Kuwait Airways would initiate new direct flights to the Red Sea resort in December.

According to al-Sabah, the decision followed orders by the Kuwaiti Emir, Sheikh al-Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, who has been a strong supporter of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

"We came today to begin many initiatives that would support the tourism sector in Egypt," al-Sabah told reporters in Egypt.

We came today to begin many initiatives that would support the tourism sector in Egypt - Sheikh Salman al-Hamoud al-Sabah

Meanwhile, an official from Azerbaijan's embassy in Cairo told al-Araby al-Jadeed that the plan to launch direct flights between Baku and Sharm el-Sheikh was meant to be implemented by the end of November, but it was postponed following the plane crash.

"The direct flights were meant to be part of a cooperation agreement signed between the two countries," he said, adding that the flights were set to be operated by EgyptAir, Egypt's national carrier.

On Friday, a British delegation of aviation and counter-terrorism experts concluded its two-day visit to Cairo for discussions on a joint plan to resume flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh "as soon as possible", said the UK embassy in the Egyptian capital.

Britain had suspended flights to Sharm el-Sheikh following the Russian plane crash, while Russia has halted all flights to Egypt indefinitely and banned EgyptAir from flying to Moscow.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed vengeance as Moscow confirmed that a bomb attack brought down the Russian airliner.

The attack put Egypt's airport security under international scrutiny, prompting the authorities to allocate EGP 175 million ($22.3 million) for a security check plan to be applied in airports nationwide.

The plan involves renewing and replacing the airport radiation scanners for passengers, cargo, luggage, parcels and even vehicles.