Archive for Cairo International Airport

Former intelligence chief heads security delegation to Sinai

by admin
December 28th, 2012

Former General Intelligence Service chief Mourad Mowafy headed up a security delegation to Sinai on Friday afternoon.

Sources at the Cairo International Airport told the Turkish news agency Anadolu that the delegation traveled on a private jet belonging to the General Intelligence. The delegation was sent pursuant to Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s recent decision to ban private ownership of land and property in strategic military areas in Sinai, including the area adjacent to the border with the Gaza Strip.

President Mohamed Morsy had dismissed Mowafy from his position following an attack by anonymous assailints on a checkpoint in Rafah that left 16 officers and soldiers dead last Ramadan. Morsy appointed Mohamed Raafat Shehata as Mowafy’s successor.

Mowafy served as the governor of North Sinai before 25 January revolution.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Egypt deports 34 migrants en route to Israel

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December 24th, 2012

Authorities at Cairo International Airport deported late Sunday 34 illegal African migrants arrested while attempting to cross into Israel in search of work. 

The migrants arrived at the airport amid tight security measures and were flown on an Ethiopian plane to Addis Ababa, from where they will travel to their countries of residence.

Egyptian security have killed and arrested dozens of migrants on the borders with Israel over the past few years. The migrants usually seek work opportunities in Israel where they are often hired as cheap labor.

Edited translation from MENA
 

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Egyptian banks bring in dollars from abroad to meet local demand

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December 21st, 2012

Egyptian banks have resorted to drawing on balances from abroad to meeting the growing domestic demand for US currency in the face of a local dollar shortage. This increased demand has negatively impacted the value of the Egyptian pound, leading to an  increased exchange rate of LE6.18 to the dollar, up from LE6.10 less than a month ago.

An Emirati aircraft arriving from Switzerland transported US$30 million to the Cairo International Airport on Thursday evening to be transferred to the Banque du Caire. This brings the total amount of money transfers via the airport up to US$45 million since last Thursday.

The decision to bring in the US$30 million from Switzerland is standard bank practice, said Mounir al-Zahed, chairman of the Banque du Caire.

The Central Bank is no longer able to intervene in the exchange market to stop the fall of the Egyptian pound against the dollar, said Passant Fahmy, former adviser to Al-Baraka Bank. The Central Bank has allocated US$20 billion in cash reserves to keep the pound at a specific level against the dollar, but Fahmy says that decision has contributed to an increase in the smuggling of funds abroad.

Fahmy said the Central Bank should have immediately reduced the value of the pound after the revolution. Instead, the policies the bank adopted led to the steep decrease in Egypt’s cash reserves, she said.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Flights between Cairo and Damascus halted for ninth day

by admin
December 8th, 2012

 

Flights between Cairo and Damascus have been suspended for the ninth consecutive day due to the deteriorating security situation around the Damascus International Airport. 

Informed sources at Cairo International Airport said that EgyptAir suspended flights after being informed by its Damascus office manager about the unstable situation around the airport.

However, the Cairo-Aleppo flight left with 20 passengers on board after the security situation in Aleppo was confirmed.

A resumption of flights between Egypt and Syria comes following negotiations among the company and Foreign Ministry, the sources added.

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Cairo receives first flight from Osaka in two years

by admin
December 3rd, 2012

The first flight from the Japanese city of Osaka to Cairo in two years arrived at Cairo International Airport Monday, carrying 213 passengers, most of whom were Japanese tourists, on EgyptAir flight 965.

The flight was the first of its kind since flights to Cairo had been suspended because of the 25 January uprising, which toppled Egypt’s former regime.

Sources at the airport told the German news agency DPA that Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou and Aviation Ministry officials greeted the passengers with flowers, before 110 of them headed for trips to Luxor and Aswan.

The country’s tourism industry has struggled to get back on its feet during the post-uprising transition after President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, with continuing political unrest keeping away tourists.

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New domestic flight routes to begin 20 December

by admin
December 2nd, 2012

New flight routes will be begin operating on 20 December, to cover all regions of the country at lowered prices, Civil Aviation Minister Samir Embaby Metwaly said Sunday.

“It will have a positive impact on tourism,” Metwaly said, pointing out that the government signed a contract for LE75 million with an investor to begin the flights.

In a press conference after meeting with Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, Metwaly said and Qandil reviewed the new projects being undertaken by the ministry, such as the expansion of Cairo International Airport and Hurghada Airport, the latter of which he said would be the third-largest airport in Africa after Cairo Airport and Johannesburg Airport.

“Our forecast for the Christmas season was adversely affected,” he said. “Many charter flights were canceled.”

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Cairo airport travel drops amid political tension

by admin
November 28th, 2012

The number of passengers arriving at Cairo International Airport fell Wednesday for the second consecutive day after massive protests over the past week.

Supporters and opponents of the constitutional declaration President Mohamed Morsy issued Thursday have clashed during demonstrations in several cities.

A source at the airport said some flights were only 25 percent full. The source added that Kuwait Airlines has cancelled flights between Cairo and Kuwait due to the low demand.

As the number of incoming European tour groups saw a downturn, DPA reported, there was also an increase in departures by foreign officials fearing that the situation might deteriorate.

Edited translation from DPA.

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Cairo airport prepares for Israeli ambassador’s return

by admin
November 26th, 2012

Cairo International Airport authorities adopted tight security measures Monday at the airport VIP lounge, preparing for the arrival of the Israeli ambassador to Cairo.

Ambassador Yaakov Amitai had left for Tel Aviv more than 10 days ago following the start of the Israeli military campaign against the Gaza Strip.

A source told German news agency DPA that the Israeli Embassy in Cairo had notified the airport that Amitai would arrive with eight staff members on an Air Sinai flight.

The ambassador was previously scheduled to return Sunday, the source told DPA, adding that airport authorities predicted he might have postponed his arrival because of the recent political tensions that followed President Mohamed Morsy’s declaration of new presidential powers.

Relations have grown more complicated between Cairo and Tel Aviv following the 25 January revolution, which toppled former President Hosni Mubarak and brought Morsy, an Islamist, to power.

Morsy had backed Palestinian militant group Hamas during the Israeli military campaign that started on 14 November with the assassination of Hamas military leader Ahmed al-Jabari. Prime Minister Hesham Qandil had visited Gaza to voice solidarity with Palestinians.

Many in Egypt have been calling for repealing the peace treaty signed by both countries in 1979, after Israel killed at least six Egyptian security officers in a border raid in August 2011.
 

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Egypt bans Suzanne Mubarak’s nephew from traveling

by admin
November 15th, 2012

Acting on orders from the Illicit Gains Authority, officials at Cairo International Airport have banned Khaled Mounir Thabet, nephew of former President Hosni Mubarak’s wife Suzanne, from traveling.



Sources at the airport said Thabet, 51, who heads a private company, tried to travel to Dubai Thursday but was not allowed to board the plane as his name was on a list of individuals banned from traveling due to suspicions of profiteering.

Thabet was allowed to leave the airport after being informed of the ban.

Edited translation from DPA
 

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Qatari spy chief leaves Cairo after two-day visit

by admin
October 15th, 2012

 

Qatari intelligence chief Ahmed Nasser bin Jassim al-Thani left Cairo on Monday evening, according to Egyptian news reports.

Thani was in Egypt for two days to discuss the situation in Syria and relations between Cairo and Doha.

Privately-owned Al-Sabah newspaper reported on its website that the official met with Muslim Brotherhood leaders and discussed arrangements for the Emir of Qatar's upcoming visit to Gaza.

State-owned newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that leaders of the General Intelligence Services escorted the Qatari official to the Cairo International Airport when he left today.

ONTV said charges had been filed with the public prosecutor against the Qatari intelligence chief for allegedly violating Egyptian sovereignty by visiting Cairo earlier this year without informing the authorities.

Thani’s visit to Cairo in May sparked controversy in People’s Assembly, with MP Mostafa Bakry filing a request for information to the foreign minister over the visit.

Media reports claimed in May that Thani held meeting with prominent figures from the Muslim Brotherhood, which the group denied. Bakry called the visit “foreign intervention in the country’s affairs.”

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