Egypt and Russia have reportedly agreed to resume flights gradually starting from October, beginning with Moscow-Cairo route through Cairo International Airport’s terminal 2, which is set to begin operations on Wednesday. Flights to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada would follow. The Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov will be in Cairo today to meet with President Sisi to finalise the agreement, sources said. Significant progress has been reached on the resumption of Russian flights to Egypt, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Transport. Flight resumption from Russia is a major upside risk to Egypt’s economy, bringing about higher tourism revenues and improved economic activity. We estimate the resumption of flights would add up USD2bn, in addition to annual revenues to tourism; Russians made up a third of total arrivals before the travel ban instated last November. (Al Masry Al Youm, Mohamed Abu Basha)