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Nearly 120 Tons of Luggage Transported to Russia From Egypt

Military transport aircraft are being used to deliver luggage to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport. Andrei Makhonin / Vedomosti

Nearly 120 tons of Russian tourists' luggage has been transported from Egypt following the termination of air travel with the country, RBC news agency reported Tuesday, citing a spokesperson for the Emergency Situations Ministry.

On Friday, the Russian government suspended air traffic with Egypt on the advice of the Federal Security Service. Russia is currently sending empty planes to evacuate tens of thousands of tourists from Egypt's Red Sea resorts.

About 25,000 people were flown back to Russia over the weekend, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said, RBC reported. Returning passengers are only allowed hand luggage on return flights and larger suitcases are being flown to Russia in separate aircraft.

Military transport aircraft are being used to deliver luggage to Moscow's Vnukovo Airport where ground services are responsible for unloading and sorting belongings.

These safety measures were taken a week after the St. Petersburg-bound Airbus A321 crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula shortly after taking off from the Sharm el-Sheikh resort, killing 224 people, in Russia's largest ever air disaster.

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