Air traffic between Saudi Arabia and Egypt grew by 22 percent in July and poised to register higher levels in the next few months, local media said quoting an expert. In remarks to Al-Eqtisadiah daily, CEO of Egypt Air Hasan Aziz ascribed air traffic grew because of the influx of thousands of Egyptians to Makkah to perform Umrah. Saudi nationals choosing Egypt as their favorite tourist destination also contributed to the increase. Egypt has been reportedly witnessing a growing movement of Saudi investors since the victory of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of the presidential elections and a visit made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. In this context, some 20 Saudi firms plan to invest SR1.57 billion (3 billion Egyptian pounds) in agro projects in areas ranging 100,000 — 200,000 feddans, the paper said. According to the CEO of Egypt Air, private aviation companies in the two countries, such as "the Nile", "Nasma" and "Flynas" began to operate direct flights between Jeddah and Cairo which were earlier denied to do so between major airports. They are operating 15 flights per month whereas Egypt Air alone has 15 flights per month between Cairo and Jeddah, he said. He expected that air traffic between Egypt and other Arab countries will register a growth rate of 150 percent compared to figures in pre-June era, based on a number of developmental indicators, notably restoration of stability and strong come-back of foreign investments in Egypt. "The (growing) number of flights between Egypt and Saudi Arabia represents a quantum leap and will be a good news for the liberation of airlines between Egypt and other countries in the next period, in a manner that will also activate airlines, on the one hand, and increase inter-trade between these countries, on the other hand," he was quoted as saying. Source: Arab News
