More than 105,000 passengers passed through Cairo and Sphinx airports over two days for the long-awaited opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, an event attended by global leaders and dignitaries, the civil aviation ministry said Saturday. The ceremony, attended by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, drew monarchs, presidents and senior officials from across the world, marking one of Egypt's largest cultural events in decades. Sphinx International Airport, located near the museum, received 16 international flights carrying official delegations from the UAE, Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Cyrpus, Jordan, Monaco, and Somalia, bringing total passenger traffic to 6,811. The airport recorded an on-time performance rate of 99 per cent, the ministry said. Cairo International Airport handled 701 flights with around 99,048 passengers, including 34 official delegations from Albania, Thailand, Lebanon, Italy, Armenia, Libya, Kuwait, Eritrea, Columbia, Ghana, Palestine, the Congo, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Greece, Japan, Denmark, Germany, Bahrain, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Nairobi, Croatia, and Azerbaijan. Civil Aviation Minister Sameh El-Hefny toured Sphinx Airport on Saturday to inspect operations and ensure smooth arrivals. He also visited Cairo International's new operations centre to oversee coordination and praised airport teams for their "professionalism and efficiency." El-Hefny said the successful management of the event demonstrated Egypt's capability to organise world-class gatherings, calling the museum opening "a message of Egypt's enduring cultural leadership and modern capacity for organisation." Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
