Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia has banned all flights by Egypt's state-owned flag carrier, EgyptAir, effective Saturday Nov.14, a Moscow Domodedovo airport official revealed Friday.
The aviation agency reportedly notified the airport, where EgyptAir flights arrive, that the ban would be in effective starting Saturday, said airport spokesperson Alexander Vlasov, according to the Star Tribune.
Rosaviastia didn't give any immediate reason for the ban on the flights, reported Reuters. However, the timing of the ban comes on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend all Russian flights to Egypt following the Oct. 31 crash of a Russian passenger jet in Egypt that killed all 224 passengers on board.
Moscow offered a little more insight, saying the ban was necessary due to security concerns at Egypt's airports.
U.S. and British officials, citing intelligence reports, expressed their belief that the plane was brought down by a bomb shortly after it took off from Sharm al-Sheikh to St. Petersburg.
Russia and Egypt said the statements were premature as the official crash probe has not concluded. The flight ban, however, appears to indicate that Russia is taking the likelihood of a bomb being the culprit quite seriously, according to CNBC.
Sergei Ivanov, Putin's chief of staff, said on Tuesday the ban will last for at least several months. Russia's national flag carrier, Aeroflot, gave a potential time frame for the other ban Friday, saying it would not fly to Egypt fly until March 27, 2016.
The ban is expected to be a crippling blow to Egypt's tourism industries which heavily rely on Russian tourists for a significant share of their revenue.
