Egypt defends airport security following British Airways cancellation of flights to cairo

Egypt has defended security at its airports after two European airlines temporarily halted their flights to Cairo.

The British Airways abruptly suspended all flights to Cairo on Saturday for seven days, citing unspecified security concerns.

The move raised concerns in Egypt over potential harm to the country’s vital tourism industry, which was recently showing signs of recovery after a years-long slump.

A senior Egyptian aviation official criticised the flight cancellations.


“All Egyptian airports are well-secured. Security at them exceeds the standard rules,” head of Egypt’s Civil Aviation Authority, Sameh al-Hefnawi, said late Saturday.

He claimed that the cancellations were politically motivated.

“The issue has nothing to do with aviation. It is political. “Whenever Egypt is recovering, a fabricated crisis happens,” al-Hefnawi added.