15 February,2011 07:00 AM IST | | Bipin Kumar Singh
Egypt Air resumes flights to over 70 destinations including Mumbai
Egypt, after being liberated following president Hosni Mubarak's hasty exit, is back on track to normalcy.
Egypt Air, the national carrier, which suspended operations because of the recent unrest, announced yesterday that it will be resuming operations to over 70 destinations including Mumbai effective immediately.
Egyptians clean the iconic lion statues in Cairo before tourists resume to visit the city
According to the latest announcement, scheduled flights MS968/MS969 will fly on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
The airline has also resumed operations on domestic sectors from February 10. Details of flight schedules have been updated on the Egypt Air official website www.egyptair.com.
When Egypt Air services were suspended on this route, Air India which on normal days does not operate on this sector, was forced to ferry passengers and delegates stranded in Cairo and other cities of Egypt back to India.
The situation was so bad that cash-strapped passengers were compelled to sign a declaration stating they were willing to forfeit their passports if they failed to pay their airfare on returning to India.
Feel good
When MiD DAY spoke to a staff member of Egypt Air at Cairo, he confirmed that scheduled operations have resumed and also maintained that the status of flights is subject to change based on the current situation.
Travel operators and tourists alike were relieved to see that peace had returned to the streets of Egypt, but still insisted that they would prefer to monitor the situation before deciding to make travel plans to the country.
Pankaj Sharma 37, one of the passengers who was airlifted to India by an Air India rescue flight said, "It is good that the things are normal now, but I personally feel that anyone will monitor the situation for at least a month before making any decision about travelling on this sector."
A tour operator from Andheri (East) echoed Sharma's sentiments, "The recent violence in Egypt has created panic among tourists and it is too early to say that passenger traffic will increase.
But, of course, if the situation improves it will be good news for us since we get a lot of business on this sector."
Rs 35,176
The return fare from Mumbai to Cairo on Egypt Air (For flight departing February 19 and returning February 26)
