Residents of Masaken Sheraton win the first round of the battle to save their homes from demolition. But their ordeal is far from over, warns Amirah Ibrahim After a year-long legal struggle with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) four residents in a building at Masaken Sheraton area -- close to Cairo International Airport -- won a respite on Sunday when the Administrative Court ruled that the demolition of the building, due to be carried out by the CAA, should stop. Sunday's court ruling has given hope to householders involved in similar cases now before courts. The ordeal of the residents, though, is not yet over. In its first reaction to the court ruling, the CAA announced it would contest the verdict within 40 days, and continues to argue that buildings are a threat to Cairo International Airport. "Demolition work must continue in line with the amended aviation law, it's as simple as that," said Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq after the ruling. "The government amended the aviation law four years ago to protect airports and other vital installations. This ruling is not the end of the legal process." The residents' battle began in 2006 when a CAA team began inspecting buildings in the vicinity of Cairo International Airport. They reported 50 violations of building regulations and recommended that the offending apartment blocks be demolished. The CAA has accused the owners of buildings of deliberately violating height restrictions and then covering up the infringements. CAA officials say the exact dimensions of buildings were measured by the Egyptian Land Parameter Authority. "They used the most advanced GPS technology and discovered that some buildings exceeded height restrictions by as much as five metres," says CAA head Ihab Sadeq. Masaken Sheraton is a relatively new, though fast-developing, middle class suburb. Close to Cairo International Airport, buildings in the area must comply with the height restrictions set by international safety authorities. Any infringement routinely results in demolition. Faced with the possibility of losing their homes, residents decided to fight the CAA in the courts. They argue that building contractors operated in good faith and followed the guidelines provided for construction by local officials. "The owners of buildings were told properties could not be more than 13.5m above ground level. Now, though, they have recalculated the base from which they were working by up to five metres. But that is not the fault of the residents, nor the contractors who believed they had met all the regulations," says Ahmed El-Nouri, one of the plaintiffs appealing the CAA's demolition orders. The civil aviation law, which regulates the height of buildings near airports, has frequently been broken. Five years ago Cairo's Imbaba Airport -- used primarily for training -- was closed after repeated violations of building codes rendered navigation unsafe. Alexandria Airport is currently experiencing a similar crisis with a number of air navigation passages closed to larger aircraft as a result of building violations. Under amendments introduced to the aviation law in 2003 the CAA can order the immediate demolition of buildings that violate zoning laws.
