Amirah Ibrahim reports on new restrictions imposed on those travelling to Saudi Arabia from Egyptian airports EgyptAir began extra flights to Saudi Arabia on Saturday to cope with increased traffic during the omra season amid growing concerns over the spread of swine flu. Two weeks ago the airline announced it would move all omra flights to Jeddah and Madinah from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1. According to EgyptAir's chairman, Captain Sherif Galal, the move will ensure better services for passengers. "The old building of Cairo International Airport is much more comfortable now that the great bulk of EgyptAir flights have moved to Terminal 3. It will be far more convenient for processing the large number of omra passengers," said Galal. Every year EgyptAir transports up to 120,000 pilgrims during Ramadan, due to begin on 21 August. "This procedure will be applied till the hajj season ends in December," added Galal. "We have hired a Jumbo B747 that can take 470 passengers from a French airline and an Airbus A330 with a capacity of 300 passengers from a Belgium airline to accommodate the extra passengers. We will be in a position to increase flight frequency to Jeddah and Madinah from five to 15 planes daily." Galal said that despite growing concern over swine flu omra bookings had fallen by just 10 per cent. "We have sold 70,000 tickets this season. Bookings are available till 16 August and we expect to sell more tickets in the coming two weeks," he said. While Arab health ministers called for a halt to this year's pilgrimage season because of fears that swine flu would spread, the Egyptian government has preferred to impose additional restrictions rather than cancel visits outright. Two weeks ago the Health Ministry banned passengers who suffer chronic diseases from travelling to Saudi Arabia this year, as well as the very young and old. The blanket ban was later modified. All omra passengers are now required to obtain certification of their good health before travelling, and in the case of those with underlying health problems, a certificate stating that their illness is under control. New thermal cameras are operating in all three of Cairo International Airport's terminals allowing passengers to be scanned in groups and thus avoid queues. "We have received 10 new group scanning cameras that have now been fixed in the arrival hall," said EgyptAir's Vice-Chairman Mohamed El-Shieshai. "Thanks to the health and military production departments which have cooperated with the airport to provide the cameras and other required facilities," El-Shieshai explained. Though thousands of passengers arriving are checked daily, swine flu cases do slip through the net, developing symptoms once they have passed through the airport. "It has nothing to do with the medical teams who are working efficiently," says Hassan Shaaban, director of Cairo International Quarantine unit. "We have had reports that some airlines have distributed anti-fever medicines to passengers so that increased temperatures will not be detected on arrival."
