Russians holidaymakers have found a way to circumvent the suspension of direct flights to Egypt by traveling to their favorite Red Sea resorts via Belarussian capital Minsk, a news report said.
Traveling from Russia to Sharm el-Sheikh or Hurghada via Minsk costs about twice as much as a previous direct flights from Moscow, but some holidaymakers are apparently unwilling to give up vacations at the Egyptian resorts that are tremendously popular among Russians, the Kommersant newspaper reported Thursday.
Approximately 2.6 million Russians visited Egypt last year, according to the Rosstat government statistics agency, Kommersant reported, estimating that about 218,000 Russians may be willing to travel through Belarus.
Direct flights between Russia and Egypt were suspended after the downing of a Russian passenger plane over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killed all 224 people aboard.
