A year without direct flights between the Russian Federation and Ukraine: no flights and not expected. The return of Hurghada: what Putin and al-Sisi agreed on

Charter flights the resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, popular among Russians, may resume in the near future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi agreed to fully restore regular air traffic between Russia and Egypt.

“We also considered the issue of full-scale restoration of tourist exchanges and full air traffic. Direct broadcasts resumed in April regular flights on the Moscow-Cairo route,” Putin said following the negotiations, adding that, first of all, they were talking about flights to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

“We will strive to resume charter flights along these routes,” the president promised, also noting the efforts Cairo is making to improve airport security.

During the meeting in Sochi, Vladimir Putin and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed the prospects for military-technical cooperation, a new industrial and logistics zone in the Suez Canal area, which will be created in Egypt with the participation of the Russian Federation. Putin clarified that it will attract about $7 billion in investments and create over 35 thousand new jobs.

In addition, the Russian leader announced Moscow's support for the idea of ​​creating a free trade zone between Egypt and the Eurasian Economic Union. “Russia is a major supplier of grain to the Egyptian market,” and “in 2017, the volume of Russian-Egyptian trade increased by 62%, amounting to $6.7 billion, and grew by another 28% in January-August,” Putin added.

The presidents also signed an agreement on comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, which, according to Putin, “set serious and responsible tasks for further deepening Russian-Egyptian ties in a variety of areas.”

Just a few years ago, Russia ranked first in the number of tourists coming to Egypt. For our compatriots, the resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh were one of the most popular destinations, along with Turkey.

According to Dmitry Gorin, adviser to the head of Rostourism, before the crisis in relations between states, about 2-2.5 million Russians visited Egypt a year.

Air traffic between the countries was suspended after the crash of a Kogalymavia plane flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg as a result of a terrorist attack in 2015. Those on board 217 Russian tourists and seven crew members were killed. Later, Russia demanded that Egypt strengthen measures aviation security. Planes from the Russian Federation stopped flying to Egypt, Russia also stopped accepting EgyptAir planes.

Resumption negotiations air traffic between the countries took place for several years. At the end of last year, an agreement was reached on the resumption of regular flights between Cairo and Moscow; the issue of flights to resorts still remains open.

On the eve of the meeting between the two leaders, Russian Transport Minister Yevgeny Dietrich told reporters that it is planned to once again send Russian experts to check the security systems of air hubs at Egyptian resorts. “We agreed with our colleagues that we could send a group to check the safety conditions and compliance with the safety requirements of our citizens who could use these flights,” Dietrich said. But he did not specify when exactly such a group would be able to go to Egypt.

The press service of the Ministry of Transport has also so far refrained from commenting on the timing of the return of flights from the Russian Federation to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

Meanwhile, even in the absence of direct charters, the demand for Egypt among Russians is growing. According to Aviasales, the peak of demand this year occurred in September, which showed a 43% increase in bookings compared to April.

As service experts note, the share of air ticket bookings to Cairo is only 30%. Everything else is beach destinations Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, where Russians fly with transfers in Istanbul, Brussels and Paris. So, if tickets for direct flights from Moscow to Cairo cost from 24 thousand rubles, then tickets with transfers to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh cost from 20 thousand rubles.

The tourist flow from Russia to Egypt will inevitably be restored in full, said Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov. Egypt is the “optimal country” for Russian vacationers in terms of geography, TASS quotes him as saying.

For Russian tourists, Egypt is one of the few options for a budget holiday at sea in cold weather, notes Arkady Gines, director of development of the travel service OneTwoTrip. According to a recent survey conducted by the service, 74% of customers would like to travel to Egypt this fall or winter if charter flights open and tour sales begin. But 64% of respondents are willing to spend no more than 40 thousand rubles per person on a trip, he notes.

Earlier Egyptian resorts offered the most budget beach holiday in comparison with competitive areas. After the launch of charter flights, Egypt will gradually restore its position in the Russian market and strive to become the No. 1 destination in the winter season, the expert is sure.

The tourism market players themselves note that, first of all, safety measures for Russian tourists must be ensured and this must be confirmed by official decisions of government bodies.

After making the appropriate decisions and opening air traffic for the formation package tours A few weeks will be enough for operators, tour operator Tui assured Gazeta.Ru.

Photo: Vasin Lee / shutterstock.com

During the “Direct Line” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, many pressing questions were raised. First of all, Russians were concerned about problems related to the quality of life. But another important topic for the country’s residents has not remained in the shadows - civil aviation, the state of affairs in which affects the situation in Russia no less than the level of development of roads and railways.

An employee of the Rostov-on-Don airport, Alexander Serov, drew attention to the monstrous bias in favor of Moscow that has developed in the Russian air communication system: “Please tell me whether events will be planned that are aimed at expanding our intraregional route network to connect our districts, regions, regions with direct flights?

In response, Putin voiced the key reason for the existence of a balanced air communication system - preserving the unity of Russian territory. “Citizens should be able to travel in the regions without going through capital cities. You are absolutely right,” the president noted. At the same time, Putin stated that “in the 1990s and early 2000s, this network completely collapsed.” According to him, the authorities are now working to recreate normal air traffic between the regions at a “new base.”

"For Far East, For Eastern Siberia these problems are most acutely felt: the distances are large, and the population is not large enough to load large airliners. - Putin explained. - We have created seven state-owned enterprises that should organize these internal interregional transportations. This is the first. They are functioning, and I really hope what we will do next: expand their activities and number to other regions of the Russian Federation.”

At the same time, the state plans to revive the Il-114 project, a twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed by the Ilyushin Design Bureau, intended for operation local airlines. In July 2014, Putin instructed the government to think about organizing mass production of this machine. It was decided to create a modernized version of the Il-114, but a lack of funding is preventing us from finally resolving this issue and launching production of the aircraft. On Direct Line, the president promised that he would “reproach” the government for the situation with the Il-114.

Problems civil aviation The Russian Federation is reduced to one aspect, which was just voiced by Putin - the weak economy of interregional transportation. The state is forced to subsidize direct flights between cities and hard-to-reach settlements, otherwise the population simply will not be able to pay the ticket price (a similar situation has developed with electric trains). The reason is that local carriers sometimes do not have the appropriate aircraft (for example, Il-114), and they are forced to operate more expensive aircraft.

The organization of state-owned enterprises and subsidies are half measures. The solution will be the massive appearance of the Il-114 and other short- and medium-haul aircraft, including the MC-21. A lot of effort needs to be made to develop small aviation, both private and public. This will require changes to legislation and investment in the restoration of small airfields.

If the above measures are implemented, then in Russia there will be grounds for increased competition among airlines. This will reduce the burden on the state and improve the situation on the market. passenger transportation and possibly lead to lower ticket prices.

However, the story of the liquidation of Avianova and Transaero testifies to the wolfish rules that dominate the Russian aviation market. In this case, the relevant government agencies must monitor strict compliance with the law and rein in large players who are disadvantaged by competition from private companies and low-cost airlines.

Civil aviation went into a deep dive after the collapse of the USSR. Suffice it to say that in the Soviet Union there were 1.4 thousand airfields, and now there are about 200. In December 2017, the first airport since 1991 will open in Rostov-on-Don! At the same time, 96% of passenger transportation in the Russian Federation is carried out by foreign-made ships. However, the state, despite the financial deficit, has every opportunity to improve the situation.

The foundation for positive changes is the stable mass demand for flights within the country, which has formed in last years. Russians are ready to pay for air tickets. This is evidenced by data from the Federal Air Transport Agency: despite the crisis, passenger traffic in the Russian Federation has not fallen.

Thus, in 2015, airlines (including foreign ones operating in Russia) transported 159.3 million people, and in 2016 - 159.6 million. The decrease in passenger traffic affected only international flights (from 54.1 million to 46.4 million people). Number of passengers flying domestic flights, grew by 7.6% to 113.1 million.

Of course, the increased demand for domestic transportation can be explained by the fall in incomes of Russians and the “closure” of Egypt and Turkey. Citizens began to abandon foreign holidays and business trips abroad in favor of domestic destinations. However, it is unwise to ignore the “capitalization” of such a large-scale demand for domestic flights.

If local or federal airlines receive the necessary aircraft and launch at least irregular flights between cities located several hundred kilometers from each other, then the demand for them will be high. However, the state will most likely have to subsidize such transportation, at least at first.

Good initiatives can be buried by the existing industry management system. Several departments are responsible for the state of affairs in civil aviation: the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Rosaviation, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and Rostechnadzor. In this regard, it is advisable to use the Soviet experience by creating the Ministry of Civil Aviation. This will emphasize the priority of the development of civil aviation and will allow monitoring the implementation of assigned tasks.

 

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