A demand for the resumption of flights to Saint Catherine or the reopening of the Wadi Feiran road has been laid out by Atef Abdel Latif, member of the South Sinai Investors Association. According to a press release on Tuesday, the airport is outfitted with employees prepared to receive flights. Abdel Latif said that last year, 40 flights landed in the airport on a weekly basis, but now it is completely vacant. Abdel Latif said Saint Catherine, located high-up in the South Sinai mountains, is rich with historical and archaeological landmarks that attract many tourists, including Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Catherine, and the site at which where according to the Abrahamic religions God spoke to Prophet Moses. Abdel Latif outlined that the town's entrances remain closed from all directions, making it difficult for tourists to enter the city, despite the fact that it is full of touristic landmarks. He added that Saint Catherine's airport is ready to receive flights but planes do not land there because, according to EgyptAir, tourists do not wish to visit the area. He demanded that a flight schedule be drawn up and a marketing plan launched for one to two months, with airlines undertaking advertising efforts. Abdel Latif also pointed out the importance of facilitating at least one weekly flight to connect Sharm El-Sheikh with Cairo for the sake of development and increasing tourism traffic. Saint Catherine airport requires night service and runway lights, Abdel Latif explained, adding that Wadi Feiran road, the main artery that leads to Saint Catherine, has been closed since the 25 January Revolution for security reasons. Closing this road makes the trip from Cairo to Saint Catherine 16 hours, but if the road was open, the trip would take 5 hours, according to Abdel Latif.
