The Civil Aviation Authority's demand that houses close to Cairo airport be demolished for breaking building regulations has provoked a furious backlash from residents, report Amirah Ibrahim Residents of the top two floors of a four- storey building in Masaken Sheraton were visited by scores of State Security personnel on 15 May. "You should have seen the way they came in, barging into our homes, intending to demolish the top two floors that very day," says May Mahmoud, who lives on the third floor of the building. "There were dozens of them, pouring into our homes as if they owned them, carrying the equipment they needed to demolish the two floors." Masaken Sheraton is a relatively recent, though fast-developing, middle class suburb that lies close to Cairo International Airport. Strict limits for the height of buildings in the vicinity are set according to international regulations and any infringement of the height restrictions routinely results in demolition. Following criticism of such forced demolitions, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) took the unprecedented step of defending its actions in statements released to two local dailies. The CAA accused building owners of deliberately violating the height restrictions and then attempting to cover up the infringements. Demolition, it said, has been temporarily postponed but will ultimately be carried out according to the law. "The building's measurements have been gauged using the most advanced GPS technology by the Egyptian Land Parameter Authority. We found the building exceeded the permitted limit by five metres and subsequently moved to demolish it," says CAA head Ihab Sadeq. "I was given the go-ahead to build and I followed the guidelines I was given," insists Ehad El-Oqda, the contractor responsible for the construction of the building." It was only after the building had been completed, says El-Oqda, that new measurements were instituted. "Where were the authorities when I was building?" he asks. "I was given instructions not to build more than 13.5 metres above ground level. Now they are talking about sea level. This is not right. It leaves the families that have already lived in the flats for over a year out in the cold." The order to demolish the flats was temporarily postponed after residents pleaded with a Ministry of Civil Aviation representative present at the scene to seek Minister of Aviation Ahmed Shafiq's approval. "At first the decision was postponed till 19 May, and then indefinitely," says Mahmoud. The aviation authorities blame El-Oqda for violating construction regulations. Resident families, though, defend the builder, arguing that he was unaware of any violation. The case is due to be heard in court next week. The CAA says its position is non-negotiable and that residents should pursue El-Oqda for compensation. "It makes no sense to compromise the workings of Egypt's main airport because someone wants to make a small fortune by violating the law," Sadeq told reporters. Although the civil aviation law has regulated construction near airports since 1981, the rules have frequently been broken. Five years ago Cairo's Imbaba Airport -- used primarily for aviation training -- was shut down as a result of building violations that rendered navigation unsafe. Alexandria Airport is currently experiencing a similar crisis and has lost a number of important air navigation passages which, owing to building violations, are now closed to large aircraft. In response to the vertical and horizontal expansion of Cairo's Heliopolis and Nasr City districts, building regulations were changed in 2003, at the instigation of Minster of Aviation Shafiq. Under the amended law, the concerned authorities can order the immediate demolition of buildings -- charging costs to the owner -- that violate zoning laws. The owner, contractor and architect of buildings can also face up to one year in prison and a minimum fine of LE10,000 for any infringement of building codes. Sadeq warns that more than 50 cases of violations are currently being reviewed, and says the demolition in Masaken Sheraton has been delayed only to allow the two parties to the dispute -- the building owners who violated the law and those who purchased the apartments -- to come to an agreement. In the face of arguments by the owners of buildings that the CAA has enlarged the area in which regulations apply, Cairo International Airport Vice-President Abdel-Fattah Badran points out that the rules are not set by local authorities but by international bodies. "Airports throughout the world are inspected and monitored by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and they must comply with standard parameters and measurements. These parameters and measurements are fixed. To say they have been changed is nonsense." "Monitoring violations around the airport is the responsibility of the CAA, not of Cairo International Airport. Our role is limited to hiring the contractors who will demolish buildings that violet the regulations," Badran said. He warned that the situation is being closely monitored by international airlines. "Many European airlines apply even more stringent criteria than international aviation bodies. They set their own regulations and issue recommendations to all European Union members over safety issues. Our airport receives flights from most of the big European airlines -- KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France -- and their paramount concern is passenger safety. Should the Egyptian aviation authority turn a blind eye to building violations it will lose credibility and damage its reputation." Residents whose homes are threatened with demolition say they are determined to take legal steps to clarify their position. "Let us keep our fingers crossed," says Ahmed El-Noori, a surgeon. "We do not want our homes to violate any laws. We are hard-working people who want the best for Egypt. But we don't want to be blamed, or made to carry the blame, for mistakes that have been made along the way."
