Putin Suspends Flights to Egypt Amid Exodus of Russian Vacationers

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on the suspension of flights from Russia to Egypt, media reports said.

All flights from Russia to Egypt will be suspended as of November 8, according to the decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Russian air carriers have been temporarily banned from conducting flights (including commercial ones) from the territory of the Russian Federation to the territory of the Arab Republic of Egypt," the document said.

The decree recommends that Russian tour operators and travel agents should refrain from selling tours to Egypt. The decree also obliges the Russian government to take steps to provide for the safe passage of Russian nationals from Egypt; to this end, the Russian Foreign Ministry should coordinate its activity with the Egyptian authorities.

The decree came several days after Putin agreed with the Federal Security Service's recommendation to suspend passenger flights to Egypt while the investigation of the Sinai plane crash is underway.

A Russian Airbus A321 passenger plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on October 31, en route from the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. All 224 people on board were killed. The crash was the biggest tragedy in the history of Russian and Soviet civil aviation and one of the 30 most deadly air disasters of all time.