THE DISPUTE between Egyptian and Saudi aviation authorities which has clouded the skies for the past nine months has come to a happy end, reports Amira brahim. Finally, both the national carrier EgyptAir and Saudi Airlines have received a green light to resume flights between Cairo and the holy city of Al-Madinah. Both carriers were banned from operating flights between the two cities as a result of a dispute between aviation authorities in both countries over landing rights. "We are ready to transfer Egyptian pilgrims to perform the Umrah through direct flights to Jeddah and Al-Madinah," commented Alaa Ashour, EgyptAir chairman. A statement by the carrier said that the Egyptian airline would resume operation to Al-Madinah on 22 January with ten flights weekly. "We have been permitted seven flights from Cairo and three from Alexandria. We look forward to double this number soon," Ashour added. In early April, the Saudi authorities suspended scheduled flights operated by EgyptAir between Cairo and the holy city of Al-Madina. The Egyptians in their turn reacted by suspending the Saudi Airlines flights between the same two points. The result was that thousands of Egyptian pilgrims had to endure a five-hour bus ride to and from Jeddah. Egyptian pilgrims were used to travelling this way long before 2006 when the national carrier was first permitted landing rights at Al-Madinah. Before 2006, only Saudi Airlines had been granted the privilege of flying between Cairo and Al-Madinah. The situation got worse and worse as the ban continued through the hot months of Umrah till the peak in the Holy month of Ramadan. However, the Saudi authorities removed the ban temporarily during the Hajj pilgrimage season and permitted the Egyptian carrier to operate a limited number of flights to Al-Madinah. According to Samir Imbaby, EgyptAir Saudi Arabia area manager, the routes between the Saudi Kingdom and Egypt are the busiest in the Arab world with at least three million passengers transferred between the two countries last year, including Hajj and Umrah pilgrim flights. "We are the second biggest operator to Saudi destinations after Saudi Airlines," stated Imbabys. "We operate 98 flights to Jeddah, 25 to Riyadh and 17 to Dammam in addition to Al-Madinah," he explained. The head of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority Sameh El-Hefni said that the Egyptian-Saudi relationship was such a unique relation. "We are happy that the dispute was solved and the Saudis have understood the Egyptian position," stated El-Hefni. "We do not have any problems with Saudi low cost airlines. We have set regulations which organize operations to Egypt's main airport Cairo International. These regulations are applied to all airlines, regardless of their nationalities." The Saudi airlines has been permitted to operate from Al-Madinah early this week, with six flights weekly to Cairo and one weekly to Alexandria.
