Minister of Civil Aviation Abdul Aziz Fadel revealed that the ministry is preparing a plan to increase the EgyptAir fleet by $10m US dollars during the coming few years. This amount will include an increase in the number of EgyptAir airplanes to reach 127 aircrafts by 2025 as opposed to the current 81 aircrafts. Fadel added that one airplane provides jobs for 200 people, helping to battle unemployment which has recently reached 14%. He stressed that EgyptAir has sustained great losses during the past years due to the decrease in the number of passengers on EgyptAir flights. Fadel explained that the company is currently studying a plan concerned with restructuring the sister companies of EgyptAir. The plan will be carried out by experts in the fields of economics and aviation in an attempt to decrease the unending losses to the company, especially with the current increase in the company's capital. Fadel meanwhile denied the possibility of a merger with Egypt Air Express so as to not create any overlap or conflicts between the two companies. All international airlines have smaller companies which operate in charter and low-budget flights, he added. Fadel said that the company has debts to the ministry of petrol which has reached 1.3 billion Egyptian pounds and will be paid only after the cabinet approves the increase in the company's capital by 5 billion Egyptian pounds. The losses to Egypt Air have reached EGP 8bn due to the security concerns and political conflicts in the past three years. According to the minister, the National Air Navigation Services Company is determined to invest EGP 2bn in updating their systems to match international ones in the coming five years. Translated from Al Borsa Newspaper.
