The flooding along Egypt's Red Sea coast to southern Egypt and Sinai Peninsula has brought widespread damage including to air transport. Some main roads were washed out, telephone and power lines interrupted and flights from South Sinai and Upper Egypt's Aswan city were affected. The most unpleasant surprise was the collapse of the Sharm El-Sheikh Airport departure hall and immigration zone, where part of the ceiling gave way due to the heavy rains. The collapse occurred at the airport's old terminal, called TB2 although it is the old one. The heavy rains wiped out large sections of the ceiling just before dawn on Monday. That was lucky, for no passengers were hurt. The airport usually receives flights late at night and early in the morning. As a result, the airport was closed for 12 hours, causing the delay of flights for about five hours. Some flights were directed to land at Luxor Airport, and some were directed to Cairo International. Aviation officials paid the airport a visit on Monday to determine whether the damages were serious enough to close the airport. "We could see that the old terminal could not operate properly and there was a possibility of collapse of more of the ceiling," explained Medhat Hendawi, chairman of the Egyptian Airport Company, which supervises Sharm El-Sheikh Airport. "A technical committee examined the collapsed parts and decided that the concrete needed technical treatment; thus, we decided to close the whole terminal for two or three weeks till repairs are completed," Hendawi added. According to Hendawi, the cost of losses are not determined yet. "We are working at present to spot every detail and evaluate the losses. We are not worried about it as the whole facility is secured with insurance that will cover the costs." TB2 is allocated for some charter flights, particularly from Russia. At present, more than 64 airlines, mostly charter airlines, operate regular and occasional flights to Sharm El-ElSheikh Airport. Three years ago, the airport gained a new state-of-the-art terminal build at a cost of LE300 million funded by the World Bank. The new terminal took the airport's capacity to 10 million passengers per annum. However, a new third terminal is scheduled to be constructed within two years to meet the increasing traffic to the unique resort. South Egypt's Aswan Airport was closed as well for four hours on Monday due to the strong storm but no delays were reported. The Red Sea Hurghada Airport also suffered a temporary closure due to the heavy flooding. According to Captain Alaa Ashour, chairman of EgyptAir, the closure of Sharm El-Sheikh Airport caused the delay of three domestic flights. One flight from Hurghada was delayed due to the strong storm. "One flight heading to Hurghada was directed to land in Luxor. In addition, two international flights were delayed, one to Munich and the other to Milan," Ashour explained. "Our regular schedules are normal at present, as Aswan, Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada Airports are fully opened." Ashour indicated that the carrier has no plans to cancel more flights this week though weather reports showed continued unstability. On Tuesday, Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq held a meeting with his top aides to study the immediate activation of the new crisis management centre which have been constructed and equipped with hi-tech systems and facilities. "The new crisis center is part of a complex that hosts the civil aviation authority, the NaviSat Satellite System and the air navigation and control systems," explained Samh El-Hefni, head of the Civil Aviation Authority. "The new crisis management centre is to control and monitor all Egyptian airports and link them in case of emergency with the central administration in Cairo," he added.
