EgyptAir (MS, Cairo International) has been banned from serving the Russian Federation with effect from Saturday, November 14. Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told the RIA news agency that Moscow had concerns about the Egyptian national carrier's safety and security oversights following last month's crash of MetroJet (Russian Federation) flight 7K9268 in the Sinai peninsula which killed all 217 passengers and 7 crew on-board.

Though the actual cause of the accident has yet to be determined, recent investigations have pointed to a possible bomb being placed in the hold of the A321-200 prior to its departure from the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el Sheikh. The so-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

EgyptAir CEO Sherif Fathy told Egypt's Al Ahram newspaper last week that the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) had instituted the ban to allow it time to study and review EgyptAir's security protocols. Rosaviatsia ordered EgytpAir to immediately submit a report on its security manual, in Russian, for assessment which is estimated to last at least forty days.

Vladimir Putin's chief of staff, Sergei Ivanov has said the ban may likely last "several months" at least adding that it would take time for Egypt to amend its security procedures in place at airports such as Cairo International, Sharm el Sheikh, and Hurghada.

Rosaviatsia has also banned all Russian carriers from flying to Egypt with Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) ending its flights there with effect from December 1. Until the actual cause of 7K9268's downing has been established, other countries have also chosen to suspend flights to the North African state among them Kazakhstan.

Saudia (SV, Jeddah International), meanwhile, has been ordered to maintain flights to Sharm el Sheikh as a sign of Riyadh's solidarity with Cairo. The announcement follows a meeting last week between King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi wherein the Saudis expressed their confidence in the Egyptian government and military's ability to maintain security in the country.