Aviation Ministry: ban on shipping goods to U.S. is outdated

CAIRO – 23 January 2018: Bassem Abdul Karim, media advisor to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, said that what was published by the Reuters news agency regarding the ban on shipping goods from Cairo to the United States of America is outdated and inaccurate.

The ban on shipping goods to the U.S. has been in place since December 2015 (except for some types of cargo of a special nature). The ban included five airports in five different countries, including Egypt.

Abdul Karim said in a statement to the Ministry of Civil Aviation that there is positive cooperation with the U.S. authorities, in addition to Egypt now participating in the information program on shipments in preparation for the lifting of the ban once and for all.

The Civil Aviation Ministry deplores the fact that some correspondents send outdated and inaccurate information to their agencies to damage the reputation of security at Cairo Airport and its systems.

On Monday, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) required tougher security measures from the six Middle Eastern airports to develop cargo screening and raise the aviation security.

The carriers and airports are EgyptAir, operating out of Cairo International Airport; Royal Jordanian Airlines, operating out of Queen Alia International Airport; Saudia, operating out of King Abdul-Aziz International Airport and King Khalid International Airport; Qatar Airways, operating out of Doha International Airport; and Emirates and Etihad, operating out of Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport, respectively.

The United States banned electronic devices bigger than mobile phones from direct flights to the United States from many airports in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey on March 25, 2017.