(Photo from Nile Air Facebook page)
CEO of Nile Air and Managing Director of Al Tayyar Travel Group Yousry Abdel Wahab said that his company is willing to increase the number of airplanes in its fleet if private companies are permitted to operate flights directly from Cairo International Airport.
He added that Al Tayyar Travel Group is eager to increase the company’s fleet to 10 airplanes during the coming period; however, this would depend on the retraction of current policies allowing Egypt Air to monopolise air traffic at Cairo International Airport. The group owns 60% of Nile Air, which currently operates flights via two airplanes.
Abdel Wahab explained that 90% of passenger traffic on the group’s airplanes comes from flights between Egypt and Saudi Arabia; it is considered a gamble for Egyptian companies to operate flights from the domestic and regional airports of Saudi Arabia. He added that private Egyptian companies operate flights to most of the 27 Saudi Arabia airports. He stressed on the importance of opening the Egyptian airport (to private companies) like Saudi Arabia. This policy led to an increase of 33% in the Saudi air traffic.
He explained that the deal between the Egyptian and Saudi civil aviation authorities, which led to opening the countries’ airspaces to private companies, led to a growth in air traffic by 31.5%. He added that Al Tayyar Travel Group has 29 offices in 27 Saudi airports in addition to two branches at the Al Riyadh and Medina airports.
He explained that Nile Air was founded by Al Tayyar Group (originally a Saudi company), and although the contract did not specify that flights from Cairo Airport would be prohibited, they continue to be prevented by the aviation authority.
Translated from Al-Borsa Newspaper.
