735 stranded Egyptians return home from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait

CAIRO – 22 June 2020: Cairo International Airport on Monday received five exceptional flights coming from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, expatriating 735 stranded Egyptians amid coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

This comes while Egypt plans to resume international flights starting July with countries that have opened their airlines, while sticking to a set of preventive measures at planes, airports and hotels. Tourists next month can visit the cities of South Sinai, Red Sea and Matrouh.

Red Sea governorate, in the southeast of Egypt, will be the first in the country to receive foreign tourists after the decision to resume international flights, the governor said, adding that a plane will arrive from Belgium on June 26.

Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar said that “strict measures” are applied before boarding to Egypt, and planes are disinfected after each flight. No meals or publications will be distributed to reduce physical interaction with the passengers.

Passengers who may exhibit symptoms of Covid-19 during the flight will be “quarantined” in the back seats.

The Ministry of Health will determine the countries whose nationals will be required to perform a PCR upon arrival to Egypt when the country resumes receiving flights, said the minister.

In a Tuesday press conference, Enaba added that the Health Ministry’s decision will be based on the World Health Organization’s announcements of countries where COVID-19 is widespread.

In airplanes, social distancing will be followed and the number of passengers may be reduced after consultation with the concerned international institutions, he continued. Further, thermal cameras are being installed at all Egyptian airports, especially in the arrival and departure halls.

Institutions that organize civil aviation at a global scale refused the reduction of the number of passengers on a plane but obligated all airlines to hand out face masks to passengers, according to Manar.

No new schedules have been set, but the ministry will operate the regular flights to and from countries that will also have resumed air traffic by July.