State seeks to boost co-operation ties with Asian countries
By Mohamed Attia
The national air carrier “EgyptAir” announced on Monday that it will start operating direct flights between Cairo and Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, as of May 14.
In press statements, Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Abbas said that this comes in line with the Egyptian State’s directives to consolidate ties between Egypt and Asian countries in general and Bangladesh in particular.
Egypt attaches great importance to boosting relations with East Asian countries and Bangladesh in Eastern South Asia, the minister said.
He further noted that the operation of an air route between Cairo and Dhaka reflects the distinguished co-operation between the two sides more than 50 years.
Minister Abbas stressed that the ministry is keen to link EgyptAir with all world countries through an integrated air network and opening new air lines. He said that EgyptAir witnessed a comprehensive modernisation of its air fleet as well as expansion in the air network.
EgyptAir has reached 70 points and about 1,200 destinations through its membership in the global Star Alliance. Star Alliance Network is the leading global airline network, in terms of daily flights, destinations, countries flown to, and number of member airlines.
For his part, Chairman of the EgyptAir Holding Company Yehia Zakaria said that the company will continue to achieve its ambitions to reach the largest number of destinations around the world. He said that EgyptAir is working around the clock to develop and modernise all its subsidiaries to keep pace with international airlines, especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Zakaria stressed that the company has made a raft of expansion plans of air routes, aiming to cover the largest number of important destinations in the world to achieve economic and tourism returns.
Zakaria confirmed that, according to the policy of supply and demand, EgyptAir has taken the decision to open this new route between Cairo and Dhaka, which meets the aspirations of many customers in both countries.
EgyptAir Airlines Chief Ehab el-Tahtawy said two 309-seater Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners will be operating between Cairo and Dhaka weekly.
There will be a 50 per cent discount on business and economy class on the first flight, el-Tahtawy said, adding that wi-fi will be available on board.
It is worth noting that the procedures for obtaining a Bangladeshi visa take a maximum of 48 hours.
In the meantime, EgyptAir became the first African airliner to include an A321neo from Airbus in its fleet, the Civil Aviation Ministry announced earlier last month.
The new plane coming from Hamburg, Germany, arrived at the Cairo International Airport.
Minister Abbas and a delegation from EgyptAir attended the delivery ceremony at the airport.
Abbas said he was pleased with the arrival of the A321neo, the first in seven aeroplanes to be delivered to Egypt as per an agreement with Airbus.
He added that the remaining six aeroplanes will be delivered accordingly throughout 2023.
According to Minister Abbas, Airbus plays a pivotal role in upgrading the fleet of Egypt’s national air carrier.
The collaboration between EgyptAir and Airbus goes a long way, as far back as 1982, he said.
The A321neo is the longest-fuselage member of Airbus’ best-selling, single-aisle A320 Family, comfortably seating 180 to 220 passengers in a typical two-class interior layout, and as many as 244 in a higher-density arrangement.
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