MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin scrapped Russia’s ban on charter flights to Egypt on Thursday, six years after suspending them for national security seasons in the aftermath of a plane crash.

The flights were stopped after a Metrojet plane taking Russian holiday makers back from Sharm El-Sheikh to St. Petersburg broke up over the Sinai Peninsula in October 2015, killing 224 people.

Russia concluded the plane was destroyed by a bomb. A group affiliated with Daesh militants claimed responsibility.

Putin’s decree lifting the ban will be a boon for Egypt’s year-round resorts in Sharm Al-Sheikh and Hurghada which attracted large numbers of Russians in the past.

Russia and Egypt agreed to resume all flights in a call in April between Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Egypt’s presidency said at the time.