Israel's national airlines El Al resumed services between Tel Aviv and Cairo on Friday after having halted all flights since Egypt's revolution last January that toppled former President Hosny Mubarak. Flights had stopped the last five months due to a drop in passengers flying between Cairo and Tel Aviv. “The plane had arrived with 11 passengers and after two hours departed to Tel Aviv with 14 passengers,” according to airport sources in Cairo. “Despite the small number of passengers and high economic cost, the company had to resume flights to Cairo for political purposes.” The airline, which plans to have three flights each week will be “contingent on the number of passengers and economic feasibility of operating the flights,” added airport sources. El Al airplanes have a capacity to fit 140 passengers. Last year, due to the low passengers, flights were reduced from four to two flights per week. El Al flights were inaugurated to Cairo in April 1980, following the Israel-Egypt peace treaty and have been operating now for 30 years. During the past five months, travel between Israel and Egypt has depended on Air Sinai, which serves the Cairo-Tel Aviv route on behalf of EgyptAir.
