By Mohamed Attia
During 2022, the civil aviation sector witnessed major achievements and development projects to upgrade all its subsidiaries.
The Civil Aviation sector has been re-elected as a member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council for an additional three years (from 2023-25).
The sector was re-elected as a member of the 36-nation governing council after a vote that saw the participation of 193 UN member states at the 41st General Assembly meeting in the body headquarters in Montreal in October.
Egypt claimed 156 of 193 votes in the election.
The step reflects the appreciation of the ICAO’s member states to Egypt as well as its contribution to the field of civil aviation.
Egypt has also been elected as vice president of the economic committee of the ICAO. Enjy Alizi, adviser to the president of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, has been named for this position with the support of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC).
Britain presented that AFCAC-backed proposal during the participation of the Egyptian delegation, chaired by Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Abbas, at the meetings of the ICAO’s general assembly in recognition of Egypt’s effective roles and efforts in working with regional and international civil aviation organizations.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation succeeded in receiving and bidding farewell to the guests of the UN COP27 climate summit, which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh last month.
Cairo and Sharm el-Sheikh airports managed to receive and bid farewell to 40,000 participants in the summit, including more than 60 heads of state, prime ministers and monarchs, in addition to members of civil society organizations.
Meanwhile, African Airports Council granted Hurghada and Sohag airports two awards of excellence. This came during a recent ceremony held in Morocco in the presence of Eng. Mohamed Saeed Mahrous, chairman of the Egyptian Holding for Airport and Air Navigation (EHCAAN) to announce the awards.
Hurghada International Airport won an award in managing safety systems – as the best airport that operates more than 20,000 flights annually.
Hurghada airport also won the same award at the level of airports in North Africa, while Sohag International Airport won the Safety Systems Management Award for the category of airports that operate less than 10,000 flights annually.
Cairo International Airport witnessed the start of the trial operation of the electric treadmill last month. It included a covered walkway with a length of 310 metres, a bridge with a length of 60 metres and a width of 7 and a half metres, and two collection areas, the first at the multi-storey garage, and the second at the terminal building 2.
It also included five service areas distributed along the length of the walkway.
The electric treadmill project, which connects Terminal 2 and the multi-storey garage, contributes to facilitating the movement of passengers and parking, and avoiding any congestion inside Cairo airport.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has worked hard to transform Egyptian airports into “environmentally friendly” airports through using renewables, rationalising the use of electricity, and relying more on solar energy. The step came in pursuit of the ministry’s comprehensive plan to comply with the national strategy for climate change and to mitigate the negative repercussions of climate change.
EgyptAir, the national air carrier, has also operated many flights with eco-friendly services, with the aim of achieving the ambitious goals of sustainable development.
Le Meridien Cairo Airport, a subsidiary of Aerotel for Hotels, Tourism and Leisure Services, celebrated being awarded the second best airport hotel in Africa for the year 2022, according to the Skytrax International Corporation report, which specialises in classifying airlines, airports and hotels according to a set of criteria on an annual basis.
Last month, the Sphinx International Airport received the first flight after the completion of development work and an increase of its capacity to 1.2 million passengers annually. Air Cairo, one of the companies affiliated with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, organized the first flight from Sharm el-Sheikh airport to Sphinx airport.
The Sphinx airport expansion project included the increase of its total area to 24,000 metres instead of 4,500 metres, in addition to upping its capacity to 900 passengers per hour, instead of 300 per hour. The development also included providing the airport with a new power station with a capacity of 7.5 megawatts.
The airport development included the addition of six elevators, eight electric stairs, and four bridges for passengers serving four planes. The Sphinx airport has been provided with 20 passport counters, and 26 counters for completing travel procedures, 13 devices of X-ray baggage scanners, in addition to increasing the capacity of runaway to accommodate 8 aircraft of different models, and a control room for surveillance cameras.
Meanwhile, Air Cairo, a subsidiary of EgyptAir, included three highly-equipped aircraft, including two A320 and one ATR72, bringing the number of the company’s aircraft to 26, including 12 A320 neo, 8 A320ceo and 6 ATR72-600. Thus, Air Cairo becomes the second largest carrier in Egypt and the largest low-cost carrier in Africa.
The Egyptian Meteorological Authority has also witnessed during 2022 a major boom in the activities and services it provides in the field of monitoring climatic phenomena, weather fluctuations, and forecasting torrential rains.
