Dozens evacuated to Russia on special emergency flight from Egypt

An Il-76 aircraft operated by Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has landed at Zhukovsky Airport in the Moscow region, carrying 84 people evacuated from Egypt, including 38 children.

Among the passengers were diplomatic staff and their family members who had arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh via land border crossings from Israel, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Israel’s airspace was closed late last week amid escalating military conflict in the Middle East. 

The Russian Embassy in Israel had urged citizens to evacuate through land crossings into Jordan and Egypt.

The evacuation of civilians from Egypt comes amid a sharp escalation in conflict between Israel and Iran, triggered when Israeli and US forces launched coordinated airstrikes on Iranian territory, prompting Tehran to fire missiles and drones across the region and leading to widespread airspace closures by multiple Middle Eastern countries.

As a result of these hostilities, major international airports and commercial routes have been disrupted, with airlines cancelling hundreds of flights and diverting traffic through safer corridors such as Egypt’s, where evacuation efforts have been organised.

By Jeyhun Aghazada