An ongoing crisis between aviation authorities in Egypt and Saudi Arabia has escalated after the Saudi authority pressured Egypt to allow private Saudi airlines to land at Cairo airport in return for allowing additional flights carrying Egyptian pilgrims. The Saudi authority suggested that Egypt Air flights would land at Prince Mohamed airport in Medina at a rate of seven to ten flights per day.
Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq rejected the proposal and said he had decided to stop all additional flights, keeping only regular ones.
Alaa Ashour, head of Egypt Air, said flights to Saudi Arabia are scheduled as normal and there are no problems in carrying pilgrims because the Umra season is still beginning. Ashour said Egypt Air is ready to carry any number of pilgrims to Jeddah airport and assured that the daily flight to Medina is sufficient to cope with demand.
Nasser Turk, deputy chairman of the Egyptian Chamber of Tourism, said the supreme committee for pilgrimages and the Umra will discuss special arrangements for the coming season and the current crisis with Saudi officials during the the first week of April in Mecca. He said that Egyptian tourism agencies support Egypt Air’s decision.
Ihab Abdel Aal, head of the general assembly of the Alexandria chamber of tourism companies, said the Saudi supreme committee for tourism was not happy with the actions of the Saudi Aviation Authority, which reduced the number of flights between both countries.
Saudi tourism authorities had also said that visas would only be issued to Umra pilgrims who have booked rooms at hotels included in a new hotel rating system.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
