The tragic ballooning accident that left 19 people dead and two wounded in Luxor last week has led the minister of civil aviation, Wael Al-Maadawi, to ban balloon flights over the city until investigations into the cause of the accident have been completed. However, although the accident may seem to be another blow to Egypt's tourism industry, which has been suffering for more than two years from the political turmoil in the country, experts believe that the impacts of the accident could be exaggerated and that they should not be seen as a way of propagating the idea that Egypt is not a safe tourist destination. “Hot-air balloons are regulated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation [ICAO], which is responsible for giving out permits to balloon operators after ensuring that they are properly qualified and trained,” said Mohamed Sherif, head of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority. Sherif added that such permits could only be given out after balloon pilots had passed a series of strict tests. “The balloons are manufactured outside Egypt and have licences given by the ICAO,” Sherif pointed out. The investigating committee into the accident announced on Monday that it had contacted the Spanish government to identify the company that had manufactured the balloon that had caught fire while it was 300 metres up in the air in order that it could give evidence to the inquiry. The committee also announced that it was undertaking a full investigation into all aspects of the accident, including gathering information and collecting the necessary documents about the balloon and its manufacturers. The impact of the accident has already been apparent on an activity that is very popular among visitors to Luxor. Workers from the hot-air balloon companies in the city are threatening to protest unless the government lifts the ban imposed on flights, which they say will be catastrophic for their livelihoods. Mahmoud Badawi, manager of Sindbad Balloons, one of Luxor's eight hot-air balloon operators, believes that Al-Maadawi's decision to ban flights is the correct one, however, since an investigation should be carried out and if necessary improved safety standards introduced in order to make sure that there are no further accidents. Badawi said that his company, which used to organise three to four flights a day before the accident, had been receiving calls from tourism companies asking if they could book flights. “This shows that things will return to normal once the ban is lifted,” he stated. Ezzat Abdel-Ghaffar, regional audit manager of the Travco Group, agreed, saying that the effects of the crash had been exacerbated by the fact that tourism in Luxor was already not performing well. “Occupancy rates in Luxor hotels still stand at just over 30 per cent, the same as pre-accident figures,” he said. Abdel-Ghaffar said that tourism companies that depend on balloon flights as a main activity on their programmes would be the ones who would feel the pinch of the flight ban. Nagui Erian, deputy head of the Chamber of Hotel Facilities, was quoted by the Al-Arabiya website as saying that “although some international news outlets described the accident as a knockout blow to Egyptian tourism, my company, which operates in the British market, has not reported cancellations to reservations made to Luxor by British tourists.” Erian added that the accident could have taken place in any country and that he was certain the investigation would be followed by new regulations that would ensure the safest possible balloon flights. Deadly hot-air balloon accidents have taken place in many parts of the world. Recent examples include a balloon bursting in January 2012 in New Zealand, killing 11 passengers. An American pilot died in March 2012 in Georgia after a balloon crash, but his passengers, who were skydivers, managed to escape unharmed. The governor of Luxor, Ezzat Saad, said that balloon flights would resume in the city within a month, after investigations into the balloon crash had concluded.
