Russian Transport Ministry Has No Information on EgyptAir Disappearance

The Russian Transport Ministry has not received any plausible information on the reasons why the EgyptAir passenger jet disappeared off the screens over the Mediterranean Sea on May 19 and is suspected to have dropped into the sea, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said Friday.

SOCHI (Sputnik) – Flight MS804 departed from the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, at 23:09 GMT on Wednesday. The aircraft was heading for the Cairo International Airport. According to the airline, there were a total of 66 people on board the plane, including 56 passengers.

"We haven’t gotten any plausible information on the reasons for the catastrophe of the Egyptian aircraft," the Russian transport minister said.

EgyptAir flight MS804 vanished off the radars in the early hours of Thursday. Countries including Greece, France and Egypt, are involved in the search operations. Despite several reports that the EgyptAir plane's wreckage has been found, the airline has said that the investigators are still searching for the remains of the missing plane.

Speaking on home security, Sokolov noted that Russian airports already have strong security measures in place.

“We think so far that the measures that have been taken today are sufficient,” the minister said said.

He said that Russian airports are already practicing a high security level that includes more serious control rules.

“The next level suggests extremely high measures of control, access, and [preflight] checks,” Sokolov added.