Due to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound and the recent restrictions imposed by the Central Bank of Egypt on the transfer of foreign currency out of Egypt, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has decided to temporarily suspend its flights to Cairo, according to a company statement on Wednesday.
The KLM Royal Dutch Airlines asserted that the suspension decision will be effective starting 8 January 2017, and that the final flight to Cairo will depart from Amsterdam on 6 January 2017, the statement read.
“For economic reasons, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has decided to temporarily suspend flights to Cairo effective 8 January 2017. The devaluation of the Egyptian pound and the decision of the Central Bank of Egypt to impose restrictions on the transfer of foreign currency out of Egypt have a negative impact on the results of KLM,” it stated.
The final return flight to Amsterdam will take off on 7 January 2017. After the suspension of KLM services to Cairo, Air France—KLM will maintain its presence in the Egyptian capital, the statement added.
“Air France will operate six weekly flights out of Paris. Passengers with reservations to travel from Amsterdam to Cairo after 8 January 2017 will be rebooked to the most suitable alternative,” the statement clarified.
Last Saturday, Turkish Airlines resumed its flights between its capital Istanbul and Sharm El-Sheikh after almost a year of suspension.
In addition to deteriorating economic conditions, Egyptian tourism was heavily impacted following the crash of the Russian aeroplane in Sinai in October 2015.
