By Mohamed Attia
Minister of Civil Aviation Lieutenant General Mohamed Abbas chaired the meeting of the General Assembly of the EgyptAir Holding Company, at the headquarters of the ministry’s new office in the New Administrative Capital, in the presence of members of the general assembly and members of the Central Auditing Organisation.
The meeting reviewed a number of important issues, the foremost of which was the approval of the estimated budget for the fiscal year 2023/2024.
During the general assembly meeting, the development plan adopted by the national company, EgyptAir, was reviewed, in addition to discussing ways to modernize air fleet.
They also discussed mechanisms for maximizing revenues and reducing expenses in light of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s strategy, and in line with the comprehensive development goals of Egypt Vision 2030.
The meeting was part of a series of meetings of the general assemblies of the holding companies affiliated with the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
It took place over the past two days for each of Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN) and Egyptian Aviation Academy to approve the estimated budgets of the two companies and review the comprehensive development plans for Egyptian airports.
The minister of civil aviation appreciated great efforts of all subsidiaries, and urged them to continue intensive efforts and effective co-operation in order to enhance economic returns and support new development projects.
Minister Abbas stressed the importance of maximizing revenues and rationalizing expenditures. He affirmed the need to pay attention to training and raising the efficiency of the human resources in various work sites in a manner commensurate with competitive edge in air transport.
The civil aviation sector is witnessing during the current period a comprehensive development plan to raise its position at the regional and global levels within the framework of the directives of the political leadership to follow up the future strategy of the sector, according to Minister Abbas.
He said that EgyptAir is witnessing the implementation of some development projects in various fields. These projects are aimed at improving services, upgrading facilities, increasing the capacity of Egyptian airports, expanding the airline network of EgyptAir, modernizing its air fleet, and opening new points to many destinations around the world.
Abbas said that all these projects lead to maximizing revenues, contributing to the development of the Egyptian state’s resources and transforming the aviation sector into a hub to attract tourism and investment sectors.
As for the Egyptian airports, it witnessed a plan of development and modernization during the last period, including the addition of new airports to the sector, which greatly contributed to attracting many international airlines, especially in light of the increasing travel and tourism movement on the Egyptian market.
The number of flights increased during the period from January 2023 to June 2023, with a rate of 29 per cent, and more than 191,000 flights, compared to the same period last year, which amounted to 148,000 flights.
The number of passengers also increased during the past six months of this year by 43.5 per cent, with up to 23.2 million passengers, compared to the same period of the previous year, which amounted to 16 million and 148,000 passengers.
The Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, headed by Eng. Mohamed Saeed Mahrous, has witnessed during the last period a great boom in terms of construction and services provided to passengers.
EgyptAir has opened a number of new routes, including the launch of its first flights to New Delhi, India, starting from this August, with four flights per week, and new airlines to each of the city of Misrata, Libya, and Tokyo, Japan, with two flights per week as of next month. EgyptAir has also operated new airlines to Dhaka in Bangladesh and Manchester in the United Kingdom.
EgyptAir has achieved an increase in the number of passengers during June 2023, which amounted to 12 per cent.
The national company has also achieved an increase in the percentage of fullness on aircraft amounted to 77 per cent, and an increase in the number of flights amounted to 9 per cent, in addition to an increase in the seat capacity offered on its flights by 24 per cent compared to the same month last year.
A comprehensive development plan has been put in place to upgrade the operating system and electronic transformation in all services.
The plan included the development of lounges, services and systems provided to customers of EgyptAir, in a way that achieves new levels that qualify it to compete in global aviation markets and enhance its revenues and profits.
As for EgyptAir Airlines, it succeeded in converting the losses it incurred during the months of April, May and June of 2022, which amounted to one billion eight hundred and sixty-two million pounds, into profits in the same months during the current year 2023, which amounted to one billion, four hundred and twenty million pounds.
Meanwhile, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi held a recent meeting with Prime Minister MoustafaMadbouli and Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Abbas, alongside Chairman of the Holding Company for EgyptAirYehiaZakaria.
During the meeting, the president followed up on the future strategy of the civil aviation sector.
Minister Abbas briefed the president on the objectives of developing the civil aviation sector during the coming period, and the executive position of the ongoing work in this regard.
President Sisi directed the continuation of intensive efforts to advance the civil aviation sector, with the aim of improving its competitive edge regionally and globally.
