CAIRO: Passengers at Cairo International Airport are angry over long delays and flight cancellations caused by an earlier workers' protest at the airport. Some passengers decided to protest in the departure hall and broke into passport gates. They condemned Ministry of Civil Aviation officials, the Egyptian cabinet and the country's ruling military council. They also accused government of failing to solve the crisis. Passengers also criticized the military council because they did not send air force members to work in place of striking air traffic controllers. Passengers of an Egypt Air flight to Jeddah, refused to return to the departure hall and went onto the runway instead when they discovered their flight was delayed. Ismail Mohamed Ismail, one of the passengers and the deputy director of the liberal al-Ghad Party, said this crisis confirmed that Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, who Ismail said is sitting in his house with intensive security, failed to handle the crisis. Ismail, brother of prominent public figure Gameela Ismail, also asked Egypt's minister of civil aviation to join passengers in the departure halls. Ahmed Hafez, head of the Cairo Airport Company, said they are trying to calm passengers and the situation is stable. It is worth mentioning that 35 flights were delayed and others cancelled because of an air traffic controller strike.
