By Mohamed Attia
The civil aviation sector began to recover in 2024 after a period of stagnation in global air traffic due to some global events, the most important of which was the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which had the greatest damage to the global aviation sector, in addition to the negative impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Egyptian airports welcomed 47 million passengers on 365,000 flights in 2023, up 28 per cent from 2022. Cairo International Airport, the country’s busiest, handled 26 million passengers on 198,000 flights. Hurghada International Airport handled 8.7 million passengers on 60,000 flights, while Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport handled 5.9 million passengers on 43,000 flights. Borg El Arab International Airport handled 2 million passengers on 17,700 flights.
EgyptAir, the country’s national carrier, carried 2.8 million passengers in 2023, up 8 per cent from 2022. The airline also added 28 new aircraft to its fleet, including 18 Boeing 737-8 MAXs and 10 Airbus A350s.
The recovery of the civil aviation sector came in line with the vision of the Egyptian state that supports the activation of air and tourist traffic coming to and from the Arab Republic of Egypt
This was clearly evident in the statements of Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Abbas Helmy, in which he praised the effective efforts being made by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to increase operating rates and the number of passengers to and from Egyptian airports.
Egyptian airports under the leadership of Eng Mohamed Saeed Mahrous, Chairman of the Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation have achieved a significant growth in the number of passengers and flights during 2023, and the total number of passengers has reached about 47 million passengers, an increase of 28 per cent compared to the previous year 2022, while air traffic rates at Egyptian airports recorded more than 365,000 flights, an increase of 23 per cent over the previous year.
Cairo International Airport, led by, received more than 26 million passengers on board 198,000 flights, while the rest of the Egyptian airports, led by pilot Ahmed Mansour, Chairman of the Egyptian Airports Company, witnessed a state of recovery in air traffic. As for the national company EgyptAir, headed by Engineer Yahya Zakaria, it has witnessed a significant growth in the number of passengers following the return of air traffic after the Corona pandemic, where the increase in the number of passengers in 2021 amounted to 52 per cent compared to 2020, and it achieved its highest rates in 2022, where the average passenger traffic reached 85 per cent compared to 2021; and in 2023, passenger traffic increased by 8 per cent compared to 2022.
Also, EgyptAir during its participation in the Dubai Airshow 2023 signed deals to increase the size of its fleet by (28) new aircraft, of which 18 are Boeing B737-8 MAX aircraft, which reached a total of 5,902 orders for 113 customers around the world. Among them, 2,380 since mid-2019, and 686 aircraft were delivered in 2023. The company also contracted with 10 Airbus 350 aircraft, in addition to renewing the seats in 19 aircraft as a first phase.
Also, ground service equipment has been replaced. During the current period, service efficiency is being improved through training courses for the human element and renewing the business class lounges for the company at Cairo International Airport, in addition to contracting to develop the website and mobile application.
The company witnessed during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024/2023 an increase in the company’s fleet from 71 aircraft to 81 aircraft, an increase of 12 per cent, and an increase in the number of destinations reached by the company from (66) to (73) destinations during a 10 per cent increase.
Also, the number of flights was increased from 9,500 flights to more than 10,000 flights, an increase of 6 per cent, and the number of operating hours was increased from 58,000 hours to 66,000 hours, an increase of 15 per cent.
Figures in 2023
7 billion dollars contribution of aviation to the Egyptian national product
Air transport supports the global economy by 4.1 per cent.
Profit margin in the industry does not exceed 2 per cent according to IATA estimates.
The civil aviation industry contributes about 7 billion dollars of the total Egyptian gross domestic product, or 2.1 per cent of the total national product.
Air transport is considered one of the activities with weak returns, with profit margins ranging between (1-2 per cent) according to global estimates issued by IATA for 2023.
The aviation industry supports the global economy directly and indirectly through direct and indirect jobs, for a total of up to 4.1 per cent.
