The civil aviation sector is witnessing during the current period a comprehensive development plan in order to advance it during the coming period and raise its position at the regional and global levels as part of the directives of the political leadership to follow up the future strategy of the civil aviation sector.

Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Abbas Helmy said that a number of development projects are being implemented in various fields of the civil aviation sector, which aim to expand the development of services and facilities, increase the capacity of Egyptian airports, expand the airline network of EgyptAir and modernise its air fleet.

The plan also aims to open new points to many destinations around the world and the acquisition of a larger share of travel traffic to and from Egypt, which leads to maximising revenues and contributing to the development of the Egyptian state’s resources and transforming the Egyptian aviation sector into a hub to attract the tourism and investment sectors.

Abbas added that the development and modernisation plan witnessed by Egyptian airports during the last period and the addition of new airports to the sector contributed significantly to attracting many international airlines, especially in light of the increasing travel and tourism movement in the Egyptian market.

The number of flights increased during the period from January 2023 to June 2023 by a rate of 29 per cent, with a total of 191,000 flights, compared to the same period last year, which amounted to 148,000 flights.

The number of passengers also increased during the past six months of this year by 43.5 per cent, with a total of 23.2 million passengers, compared to the same period of the previous year, which amounted to 16.1 million passengers.

The Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, headed by Eng. Mohamed Saeed Mahrous, has witnessed during the last period a great boom in terms of construction and services provided to passengers.

As for EgyptAir, the minister said that during the coming period, a number of new EgyptAir routes will be opened, as its first flights are scheduled to start to New Delhi, India, starting next August, with 4 flights per week, followed by new airlines to each of Misrata, Libya, and Tokyo, Japan, with two flights per week each, during the month of September.

The minister added that EgyptAir has achieved an increase in the number of passengers during the month of June 2023, which amounted to 12%, an increase from its rates in the same period last year, an increase in the percentage of fullness on planes amounted to 77%.

A comprehensive plan has been put in place to fully develop the operating system and electronic transformation in all services as well as the development of lounges, services and systems provided to EgyptAir customers, which reflects the distinguished and exceptional services the national company provides to its passengers to achieve new levels that qualify it to compete in the global aviation markets and enhance its revenues and operational profits.

As for EgyptAir Airlines, it succeeded in converting the losses it incurred in the months of April, May and June of 2022, which amounted to 1.862 billion pounds, into profits in the same months during the current year 2023, which amounted to 1.420 billion pounds.

Minister Abbas witnessed the launching ceremony of the first flight of EgyptAir from Cairo International Airport to Manchester, United Kingdom, on its Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with 120 passengers on board.

The minister said that restarting an airline between Cairo and Manchester confirms the extension of the distinguished relations of cooperation between Egypt and the UK, explaining that the beginning of EgyptAir flights to London Heathrow Airport was in 1970, and it witnessed a noticeable increase in the number of flights over the past years.

The minister added that by operating the Manchester route, the total number of EgyptAir flights to the United Kingdom will become 20 flights per week, with 14 flights to London, 5 flights to Manchester, and a flight from Luxor to Heathrow Airport in London, which gives a special advantage to the company’s customers to travel directly between Cairo and the most important British cities, namely London and Manchester.

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