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Egypt Air set to resume direct service to Sharm El Sheikh from Dubai in June

DUBAI — Egypt Air, the first carrier formed in the Arab world and Africa, is set to resume direct flight to Sharm El Sheikh from Dubai next month, a top official of the airline told Khaleej Times yesterday.

Gamal Hammad, country manager Dubai and Northern Emirates, said the airline will resume the service on June 14 when direct flight from Sharm El Sheikh will arrive in Dubai and depart for the 'tourists paradise' same night.

"Initially we are going to relaunch the flight once in a week — every Thursday — to facilitate the tourists who are willing to visit the most extraordinary diving destination in Red Sea," he said.

Egypt Air, the first airline in the Middle East to fly Boeing 707s, suspended direct service to Sharm El Sheikh from Dubai in 2005 due to lacklustre response from tourists at that time. However, Gamal was confident that this time the service will be successful amid considering the fast development in the city which has Red Sea on one side and the mountains of Mount Sinai on the other.

"We are going to launch an aggressive marketing campaign to make this service a success this time," he added.

"Egypt Air has already been operating three daily flights to Cairo from Dubai and Northern Emirates," he said adding that the airline will continue to maintain its focus on Middle East, Africa and Asia besides spreading its wings to United Sates and Canada.

New destinations: About the expansion plan, Gamal told Khaleej Times that the airline is set to launch three new destinations this summer.

"Egypt Air will launch service to Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, Portugal capital Lisbon and a Chinese city by June," he added.

Egypt Air operates more than 400 weekly flights depart from Cairo and many other Egyptian cities to 65 international and domestic destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.

Modern fleet: In reply to a question, Egypt Air country manager said the airline is operating one of the most modern and young fleets in the industry.

"The airline has a fleet of around 50 modern aircraft comprising Boeing 737-800, 737-500, and 777-200, as well as Airbus A300-600, 300B, A320, 340-200, and A321," he added.

Terminal Building 3: About civil aviation in Egypt, he said Cairo International Airport is currently undergoing major developments with regard to its infrastructure, involving the construction of a new Terminal Building 3 (TB3).

"TB3 is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2007 and latest by first quarter of 2008 that will boost the capacity of three terminals at Cairo International Airport up to 25 million passenger per annum," he said adding that TB3 alone will have capacity to handle up to 12 million passengers in a year.

"With TB3, Cairo Airport will double its airport capacity, enabling us to provide passengers and airlines with state-of-the art services and facilities," he said.

He further explained that two of the gates at TB3 will be equipped to handle the Airbus A380 aircraft.

He said Egypt has the most number of international airports in the region. "Out of 13 airports across the country, about nine airports are dealing international flights to various destinations," he added.

Cairo International Airport is the major airport in Egypt and primary hub for EgyptAir. It is the second busiest airport in Africa, after Johannesburg's Tambo International Airport.