Egyptian national airline Egyptair has submitted a request to operate Tel Aviv - Cairo flights, "i24News" was the first to report. The airline's representatives told "Globes" that Egyptair officials will come to Israel next week for a meeting on the matter. Egyptair plans operating 21 weekly flights on the Tel Aviv - Cairo route.
This is not a new route for Egyptair whose subsidiary Air Sinai was operating seven weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Cairo, before the Covid-19 crisis, on aircraft with no livery or logos or Egyptian flag. Egyptair is now asking to replace the Air Sinai service and expand from one to three daily flights.
The anticipated presence of other Arab airlines at Ben Gurion airport, such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, Gulf Air and Royal Air Maroc, in the wake of the Abraham Accords, has in effect persuaded Egyptair "to come out of the closet." Egyptair plans offering connections flights to Israelis from its hub in Cairo to a wide range of worldwide destinations.
Egyptair is a government owned airline with a fleet of 70 aircraft and which belongs to the Star Alliance, the world's largest global airline alliance.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 5, 2021
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