Business as usual at Egypt airports despite calls for strike

Gad el-Karim Nasr, president of the Egyptian Airports Company, said full attendance was reported in the various sectors and work continued as usual.

Official sources from Cairo International Airport said policemen and employees in the customs and visa departments and the health, veterinary and agricultural quarantine departments were keen to arrive early to work to counter calls for civil disobedience that have spread over the past few days.

Security was increased on the roads leading to the airport in cooperation with the armed forces to secure the airport against attempts to spread chaos or to attack the vital facility.

Passenger numbers at the airport continued to drop due to calls for civil disobedience and the bad weather conditions, with several airlines canceling flights.

Despite the negative economic impact, Tunisian, Jordanian, Yemeni and Italian airlines canceled flights.

 

The call for strikes in universities and workplaces on the first anniversary of Hosni Mubarak's resignation followed a series of protests pressuring the military to hand over power to civilians immediately, rather than wait for presidential elections later this year.