03 February 2011
BEIRUT: Middle East Airlines’ flight to Cairo was fully booked Wednesday, with scores of Egyptians in Beirut keen to return home.
While hundreds of Lebanese crowded onto planes leaving the troubled Egyptian capital over the last few days, forcing authorities to arrange additional flights, a group of predominantly Egyptian citizens, accompanied by a smaller contingent of foreign nationals, have been trying to make their way to Cairo, MEA said.
But, several travelers looking to get to Egypt were left frustrated after failing to find space on the outbound flight, they told The Daily Star.
Travel agencies and MEA airport desks confirmed the incident
The decision of the two main carriers, MEA and Egypt Air, to abide by the curfew imposed last week by Egyptian authorities, has caused both carriers to cancel their afternoon flights, with Egypt Air also grounding all its flights Thursday.
The curfew was relaxed Wednesday, but the move is not expected to impact MEA’s reduction to a single flight per day. “For now the cancelation is in place for the rest of the week but we are monitoring the events in Egypt very closely and assessing the situation constantly,” Hout told The Daily Star.
There have been long delays for flights out of Cairo since the outbreak of protests on Jan. 25, but the Wednesday MEA flight arrived safely, with 96 passengers, less than half capacity, MEA said. – The Daily Star
Copyright The Daily Star 2011.
