The Egyptian air watchtowers launched at 12:00 pm the flights‘ suspension warning siren, in accordance with the preventive measures taken by the government to curb the rapid spread of Coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19.
This came after the 72-hour emergency period given by the government to bring back Egyptian expats who are wishing to return to their homeland.
The last flight took off from Cairo International Airport earlier today was for the Nile Air, which had operated a private jet to evacuate a number of Mexican citizens and bring them back to their motherland.
Concerning the tourist groups currently in Egypt, Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar affirmed that tourist programs will be completed and tourists will leave on their booked charter flights, noting that such flights shall not bring new tourist groups to Egypt.
He added that Egypt National Airspace is not closed. In order not to harm the interests of Egyptian citizens, the decision to suspend air traffic does not include domestic flights and cargo flights.
It is worth mentioning that, the Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli announced the suspension of all international flights in all the state’s airports over the outbreak of coronavirus, starting next Thursday till March 31.
In a press conference, Madbouli said that all precautionary measures have been taken to face the deadly virus, confirming that the number of civil servants will be decreased over the coming period.
He stated that all hotels and tourist facilities will be sterilized and disinfected during the coming two weeks, in conjunction with the suspension of all tourist flights.
He added that the government will bear the burdens of the potential economic losses in order to protect the lives of the Egyptian people, calling on them to take this seriously and take care of themselves and their children.
The premier also warned against any kind of recklessness in dealing with the current crisis, noting that there is full coordination among all the state’s bodies to fight the deadly virus.
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