AFP – Pilots for national carrier EgyptAir began a sit-in on Thursday to demand better pay and working conditions, disrupting flights out of Cairo, an airport official said.
The strike has caused the cancellation of nine flights with more disruption expected, the official told AFP.
Civil Aviation Minister Wael al-Maadawi went to the airport for talks with the pilots, who are demanding salary increases and more benefits.
In September 2012, EgyptAir hostesses and stewards went on strike to press for better working conditions, but ended their work stoppage after promises of a meeting with civil aviation officials, strike leaders said.
The national carrier’s cabin crew went on strike at dawn for 12 hours, with the company saying that this had affected some early morning flights and causing the suspension of international departures from Cairo between 4:00 am and 4:00 pm (0200-1400 GMT).
Around 50 flights were ultimately cancelled. The strikers then met with Tourism Minister Mohamed Hisham Abbas Zazou, who promised them talks with civil aviation authorities.
Since the fall of longtime president Hosni Mubarak in 2011, strike action has hit several sectors of an economy already devastated by plummeting tourism revenues and foreign investment.
Rising inflation, fuel shortages and power cuts have added pressure to the population, a quarter of which lives in poverty.
