Iran, Egypt to renew direct flights

An Egyptian minister says direct flights in the form of charter flights will resume between Iran and Egypt within the coming weeks, Press TV reports.

Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Wael el-Maadawy was quoted by Egyptian daily Al-Ahram as saying on Wednesday that the flights will link Iran with three Egyptian cities of Luxor, Aswan, and Abu Simbel.

A private carrier owned by businessman Ramy Lakah is expected to run the new routes, el-Maadawy added.

The Egyptian official's remarks came after an agreement signed between the country's Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou and Iranian officials in Tehran in February.

Direct air travel between Iran and Egypt came to a halt after the two countries severed bilateral relations following Iran's Islamic Revolution of 1979.

But Tehran and Cairo moved to improve ties following the ouster of the Western-backed regime of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Many observers believe that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Cairo in February was a major step toward further improvement of bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic and post-revolution Egypt.

Earlier in March, Tehran and Cairo signed a memorandum of understanding to promote tourism between the two countries.


/Trend/