Egypt is seeking to boost co-operation between national flag carrier EgyptAir and the private sector, Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Abbas said.
Mr Abbas met the heads of some of the country’s biggest private sector aviation companies on Sunday to discuss future projects with EgyptAir in a bid to boost the country’s tourism sector and ailing economy.
The ministry promised to do all it could to help private aviation companies compete with international and regional airlines.
“Private aviation companies are an integral part of Egypt’s civil aviation sector,” said a ministry statement on Sunday. “There are discussions and exchanges of ideas and viewpoints taking place with the private sector that will develop the local aviation sector and the national economy.”
EgyptAir has been operating at a loss since Covid-19 halted all commercial flights for several months. So, a partnership with the private sector could be a lifeline for the airline at a time when the country is facing high inflation and a drop in the value of the local currency.
The company has had to borrow from the government to stay afloat.
In 2021, a group of MPs publicly criticised EgyptAir for being a burden on the national budget. The company received a 5 billion Egyptian pound ($164.8 million) loan later that year.
The chairman of the airline’s holding company Mohamed Zakaria said at the time that EgyptAir was losing 500 million pounds a month after the Covid-induced slump and that the company would be streamlined to increase profit.
In October, billionaire Naguib Sawiris said EgyptAir could pull itself out of financial trouble by selling 30 per cent of its shares to private companies on the stock market.
In January, Mr Abbas said a new plan had been devised to cut the company’s losses but did not reveal any details.
The announcement was followed by a number of unconfirmed reports that the government had reached an agreement to privatise the airline.
However, suggestions that a national symbol such as EgyptAir might be privatised were met with outrage on social media.
The backlash led Mr Abbas to issue a statement on January 25 denying the reports.
He said the airline was returning to being profitable and reports of its sale were nothing more than rumours meant “to attack the company during a trying time”.
In June, the government announced its State Ownership Policy Document, a large-scale plan to sell national assets to private companies in a bid to withdraw from various industries and attract about $40 billion in private sector investment over four years.
The document, which was ratified on January 1 by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, included specific guidelines for foreign companies.
After a report last month by the International Monetary Fund said Egypt would most likely have to sell $8.6 billion in state assets to bridge some of its financing gap, the government came under fire from Egyptians opposed to such a sale.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Gothia Cup 2025
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
UAE finals day
Friday, April 13
Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Brief scores:
Everton 2
Walcott 21', Sigurdsson 51'
Tottenham 6
Son 27', 61', Alli 35', Kane 42', 74', Eriksen 48'
Man of the Match: Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdited%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Idries%20Trevathan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20240%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hirmer%20Publishers%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
