Egypt close to meeting airport security demands
Steps being taken to address Russia’s call for upgrades
CAIRO // Egyptian officials said yesterday they were inching closer to meeting all demands set by Russia on airport security to resume flights to Egypt, suspended after militants from a local affiliate of ISIL downed a Russian airliner 15 months ago over the Sinai Peninsula.
Since the crash, Egypt has spent millions of dollars to upgrade its airport security, particularly in Cairo and destinations popular with foreign tourists, such as Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada on the Red Sea.
The officials said work had begun to install 16 fingerprint security gates for employees at two of Cairo airport’s main terminals and to raise an existing but potentially vulnerable, stretch of fence separating the east Cairo facility from a residential suburb.
The officials said 12 fingerprint gates had already been installed at Terminal 2, the airport’s newest terminal from which Russian national carrier Aeroflot was expected to operate when flights resume. The decision to install similar gates at terminals 1 and 3 was recommended by the Russians.
The fingerprint scans were bought in place of retinal scans that airport officials said last October they would tender for the employees’ gates but which proved to be too expensive and more difficult to operate.
Russian airport security experts have visited Egypt on at least six occasions since the October 2015 crash to assess the new security measures. The latest Russian inspection took place this year.
Russian officials have similarly said that they were close to resuming flights to Egypt, but they have not set a specific date.
Moscow suspended air links to Egypt after ISIL militants brought down the airliner, kill- ing all 224 people on board and ruining the country’s tourism industry. The aircraft had taken off from Sharm El Sheikh.
Britain followed Russia’s example and suspended all flights to Sharm El Sheikh, dealing another blow to Egypt’s tourism industry – Britons and Russians accounted for more than half of foreign visitors to Egypt on the eve of the crash.
But security related problems at Cairo airport persist. Officials said a check yesterday of personnel working in airport grounds caught 23 employees with expired access permits, driving without a licence or speeding.