Russian President Vladimir Putin has partially lifted his country's travel ban to Egypt, giving the green light for direct flights to the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The ban was put into place after a Russian plane crashed in 2015 in Egypt's Sinai. Moscow proceeded to freeze all flights to Egypt amid concerns of an airport security breach. Adel EL Mahrouky has more.

Finally the decision Egypt has been desperate to hear, has been officially signed. Russian President Vladimir Putin has excluded Cairo for his 2015 flight ban to Egypt, reflecting confidence in Egypt's airport security.

SHAHINDA ABDEL REHEIM INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS RESEARCHER, BAWABA NEWS "During the flight ban, Russian planned personal trips to Egypt through another international connection. So this is great news. The return of Russian tourists will revive Egypt's economy. President EL Sisi hopes that tourism revenues would return to what it was in 2010, which brought the national income 11.6 Billion Dollars, that won't happen without the Russians. "

Russia's travel ban forced many red sea hotels to shut down. Around 800 thousand Egyptians work directly in the tourism industry, much more in related fields. But the Egyptian capital is the least favorite destination for Russian tourists, It has the capacity to connect them to the Red Sea Resort cities, Sharm EL Sheikh and Hurghada, but direct flights there are still crucial for Egypt.

SHAHINDA ABDEL REHEIM INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS RESEARCHER, BAWABA NEWS "It's unfortunate that the flight resumption will be only to Cairo, which means that those who'll benefit the most from that are Russian, businessmen, diplomats and security officials. Russian tourists prime destination is the Red Sea. The plan so far according to leaked information is to resume Cairo flights in February, then Hurghada and Marsa Alam airport in April, while Sharm El sheikh might be delayed a little bit longer."

Russians used to represent one third of Egypt's annual visitors, that's more than three million tourists a year. But after the Russian airline crash in Sharm EL Sheikh, than number dropped to just 100 thousand last year.

ADEL EL MAHROUKY CAIRO, EGYPT "Russia has not marked all Egyptian airports safe yet. Egypt is rejoicing though. The country's tourism industry has lost billions of dollars in the past years because of Moscow's travel ban, so any news about possible recovery is a huge relief to Egyptians. AMA CGTN CA."