Egyptian aviation authorities have ordered the driveways to Cairo International Airport be equipped with X-ray devices for detecting explosives, Al-Ahram reported on Monday.
The devices are set to be installed at the two main driveways within two months, Al-Ahram added.
In July, a delegation of Russian experts on aviation security completed security checks of the second terminal of the Cairo airport, approving security measures at the airport.
The experts examined one of the gates at the Cairo International Airport Terminal 2, which would be used for the boarding of Aeroflot passengers.
They also examined the measures taken by Egypt to ensure the security of passengers, luggage and airport personnel entering staff-only areas, as well as the cargo zone, video surveillance system and the recently installed biometric equipment for scanning staff entering the building.
Russia and Egypt have agreed on the final version of the aviation security protocol, making it possible for the two countries to resume air traffic, state-owned Russian news agency TASS said in March.
Though the Russian government approved the aviation security protocol between Moscow and Cairo, prepared by the Russian Transport Ministry, a specific time frame on when direct flights with Egypt will resume has yet to be identified.
TASS reported Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov as saying that there are only two pending issues.
“[The Egyptian party] has not yet identified the date, the venue and time for signature of this agreement; all other issues have been agreed upon,” Sokolov said.
In mid-February, the Russian government ratified a protocol with Egypt on maintaining the safety and security of civil aviation, according to a statement on its official website .
The protocol assigned Russian aviation experts to monitor the degree of commitment to safety procedures at Egyptian airports, according to the statement.
Russia laid down its conditions for Egypt-bound flights to run again following the crash of a Russian plane in October 2015, which killed all 224 passengers and crew on board — most of them Russian tourists.
After the incident several countries demanded that certain security measures be implemented at Egyptian airports for the resumption of direct flights to be considered.
Russia, which had halted all flights to and from Egypt after the 2015 incident, sent several expert Russian delegates in 2016 to inspect the security measures at Egyptian airports.
Egypt and Russia’s ministries of aviation agreed in September 2016 on the development of a joint agreement which stipulates the safety measures that should be followed by Egypt in order for flights to be resumed.
Egypt has been battling to recover its badly-affected tourism sector after years of political turmoil since the January 25 uprising in 2011.
The tourism crisis was exacerbated by the Russian plane crash in October 2015, prompting international charter agencies to cancel their flights to Egypt.
