CAIRO: Egypt's national airline, EgyptAir, resumed international flights on Friday after flight crew resumed their duties after a strike that began in the early morning hours over negotiations to improve their work conditions. Those negotiations failed, causing the strike to take place. Airport officials on Friday late afternoon told Bikyamasr.com that EgyptAir had resumed its flights after crew returned to their posts. It is the latest labor strike in Egypt, which has seen factory workers in recent months stop work in an effort to demand better wages and better working conditions. Unions across the country and not only in the government-owned airline have often complained of widespread corruption and laws they argue need updating. Workers across the country have urged the government to replace state-appointed officials in an effort to end the “old man's” club of government business leaders, many of whom have remained from the former regime of Hosni Mubarak, despite his ousting in February 2011 as a result of a popular uprising. An air traffic controllers' strike last year delayed flights and caused passengers to be stranded. Friday's strike left hundreds of passengers stranded at Cairo International Airport. Angry passengers protested against the workers and a number were reported as arguing loudly with airport staff as a result. The government and the military established checkpoints on the roads leading to the airport, forcing a number of passengers to walk, with their luggage the rest of the way to the terminal.
