In media statements, Nechai said that 8,608 Ukrainian tourists have been evacuated on 36 EgyptAir flights.

In early March, EgyptAir and Cairo Air airlines began flying out Ukrainian tourists who want to leave at the expense of the Egyptian government.

Ukraine’s airspace was closed to civilian flights following the Russian invasion of the country in late February.

The Ukrainian embassy in Cairo coordinated with the Egyptian foreign and tourism ministries to evacuate nearly 20,000 Ukrainian tourists to Ukraine’s neighbouring countries, especially Poland, Hungry and Slovakia, in two stages.

The Ukrainian Chargé d’Affaires in Egypt expressed his appreciation for Egypt, the Egyptian foreign and tourism ministries, as well as the Egyptian Hotel Association for supporting and hosting Ukrainian tourists who could not return due the invasion.

When the crisis started, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said that all Ukrainian and Russian tourists were welcome to extend their stay at Egyptian hotels.

The Egyptian Hotel Association announced that the Tourism and Antiquities Fund would pay for Ukrainian tourists stranded in the country to stay at three-star hotels.

Ruslan Nechai also revealed that according to the latest information from his Egyptian counterparts, around 3,000 Egyptians have been evacuated from Ukraine.

Prior to the Russian invasion, around 6,000 Egyptians lived in Ukraine, including 3,000 students studying at the country's universities, especially in medicine.

Over the past weeks, scores of Egyptian expats crossed the border into Romania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia and returned to Egypt with the help of the Egyptian foreign ministry.