Sharm El-Sheikh airport passenger numbers rise 55 pct: Aviation head

Airline traffic at the Sinai tourist hub is up on the first 2 months of last year; A 'promising sign' of recovery, claims an official

Traffic at Sharm El-Sheikh's international airport increased by 55 per cent in the first two month of 2012 compared to the same period last year, a key Egyptian aviation official has told Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news portal.
Hassan Rashed, head of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN), said that airline traffic at Sinai's tourism hub has not returned to the levels seen before the Janaury 25 Revolution, but its mere increase is a promising sign.
Rashed, however, did not cite any more detailed figures.
Egyptian tourism, one of the country's main foreign currency earners, was hit hard by unrest following the popular uprising that unseated President Mubarak early in 2011.
Official results showed 2011 tourism revenues fell by a third compared to 2010, tumbling to some 9.5 million tourists and $8 million in revenues by year-end.
Hurghada airport is also seeing increased traffic, and at a better rate than Sharm El-Sheikh, according to Rashed.
The resort of the southern part of Egypt's Red Sea coast is a favoured destination with German and Russian tourists.
Construction work at Sharm El-Sheikh airport, which aims to increase its capacity to 10 million passengers per year, will start soon, Rashed added.