CAIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday welcomed the British government's decision to resume flights to the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh after nearly four-year suspension.
"The decision is an indication of relations and trust between Egypt and UK. It crowns the strategic coordination between the two governments," the ministry said in a statement on its website.
The move could be a start of a new stage that will see more British tourist flights to all the Egyptian airports, it said.
Earlier, the British Embassy in Cairo stated that "the British government has removed its advisory against flying to Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort."
"This announcement follows our aviation security experts' close cooperation with their Egyptian counterparts. We will work closely with airlines who wish to resume flights," British Ambassador to Egypt Geoffrey Adams said in a statement.
The flights have been suspended after an Islamic State bombing brought down a Russian passenger plane in October 2015, leaving 224 tourists killed.
Russia, another major source of tourists to Egypt, initially suspended all direct flights to Egypt following the attack.
It resumed direct flights to Cairo last year but direct flights to popular Red Sea resorts have yet to be resumed.
"We will also continue our work with Egyptian officials to ensure the safety and security of British nationals," he added.
The number of British tourists to Egypt has grown in recent years, despite restriction on flights to Sharm el-Sheikh. There were approximately 415,000 visitors in 2018, according to the embassy's statistics.
"The UK has been clear about that flights to Sharm el-Sheikh should be resumed when the security situation allows," British Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Andrew Murrison said in a statement released by the embassy.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Tourism Ministry also hailed the decision in a statement, saying "this step proves the continuous efforts exerted by the Egyptian government to ensure the safety and security of every visitor in all of Egypt's destinations, and in South Sinai in particular."
Minister of Tourism Rania al-Mashat stressed the British decision will signal a positive impact on increasing the tourist flows coming from British not only for Sharm el-Sheik but also to the other Egyptian destinations in general.
"It's a message to the world that Egypt is safe and safety of tourists is a priority for the government," the minister added.
She reiterated the improvement of security conditions in Egypt, referring to the World Travel and Tourism Council's report about Egypt as "a country that could endure and tackle crisis."
