Dutch airlines resuming flights to Cairo after three-yr hiatus

CAIRO, Aug 23 (AN): KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will resume flights to Cairo International Airport twice a week after a three-year hiatus, starting from Sept 9, the company has announced.

Passenger flights to Cairo were suspended in 2017 when they became loss-making after the Egyptian pound floated and lost half of its value. KLM complained that the economic situation in Egypt was terrible, and restrictions on foreign currency conversion also harmed the company.

Since then, KLM clients have relied on the sister company Air France for flights to and from Cairo via Paris. EgyptAir is the only company that flies passenger planes directly from Amsterdam to Cairo.

KLM continued to transport goods between Amsterdam and Cairo by cargo plane throughout this period.

"After the suspension of our direct flights since January 2017, we are proud and honoured today to announce the resumption of two weekly direct flights again between Cairo and Amsterdam," Matteo Tito, director general of Air France KLM Near East said.

He explained that the company is continuously enhancing its investments in Egypt with the aim of providing its Egyptian passengers with the best service.

"Our history in Cairo goes back a long time. We are celebrating our 90th anniversary - KLM made its first trip to Cairo on Sept. 28, 1930," he added.

He said that at the beginning of September a decision would be taken regarding the continuation of flights to Cairo during the winter season.

Egyptian tourism has finally recovered, after months of not welcoming any tourists to the Cairo International Airport to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said that the number of tourists visiting Egypt in the cities of Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh since the resumption of tourism in the country exceeded 85,000 within a month and a half.