The first low cost carrier is to land at Cairo International soon, provided the airline changes its operational policies, reports Amirah Ibrahim The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) has granted Kuwait's budget carrier Al-Jazeera Airways the approval to land in Cairo, a long-awaited move that will pave the way for other budget airlines to follow. "The airline agreed to abandon its low-cost policy according to Egyptian regulations," explained Sameh El-Hefni, head of ECAA. "This certainly means that the airline will comply with the airport's policies regarding prices and adding a separate business passenger class to plane configuration," El-Hefni added. Cairo International airport, which had been subjected to an ambitious plan to convert it into a hub for Africa, and has restricted landing approvals to regular airlines. Charter flights were approved recently but with tough restrictions. Low- cost carriers or budget airlines are not permitted to operate at the airport, which acts as the main gateway for the country. "We have more than 40 airlines operating in the airport and they are complying with our rules, which we believe help classify the facility at a high level," explained Fathi Fathallah, Cairo International chairman and CEO. "The airline will also modify its flight reservation policies to allow ticket refunding," Fathallah added. Al-Jazeera Airways posted a net loss of $10.13 million in 2010 but swung to net profit of $7 million in the fourth quarter. According to Chairman Marwan Boodai, the carrier aims to fly 82 routes in the Middle East within the next five years. "We were deprived for years from operating flights to Cairo airport, which is considered one of the most important regional destinations," Boodai said. He is optimistic the new service will start by next May. The carrier used to compete with two other Kuwaiti airlines in the Egyptian market -- Kuwait Airways and Wataniya Airways. Four weeks ago, Wataniya Airways stopped operations due to "a lack of fair-trade requirements in local markets, regional instability and a tough financial situation". Al-Jazeera was back to normal operations in Egypt, Lebanon and Bahrain, despite political unrest," Boodai concluded.
