20 - 26 September 2001
Issue No.552
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 20 - 26 September 2001 Issue No.552 |
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The ripple effect
Strict security procedures, limited international flights and war clouds gathering in the region spell dark days for Egypt's aviation industry, reports Amira Ibrahim
A week after the devastating events of 11 September, Egyptian aviation authorities introduced tighter security precautions at the nation's 19 airports. Minister of Transport Ibrahim El-Demeri held extensive meetings with aviation officials to decide on a set of "water-tight" security procedures that will affect jets on the ground and internal and external control towers at domestic and international terminals.
Asked if the new procedures were intended to conform to the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) new security guidelines, Ibrahim El-Shami, deputy chief of airport security, said: "We are concerned with the tensions in the Middle East. More security measures are being introduced to deal with the explosive situation, particularly the war alerts that are being heard ever since the terrorist attacks on the US."
Cairo Airport has been favourably cited by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for three years in a row for its application of aviation safety and security procedures. Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September, the FAA issued a new safety and security programme. International carriers will now only be permitted to fly to the United States if they meet the FAA's new security guidelines, though a flight's point of origin will also be taken into consideration.
A number of meetings took place between Cairo Airport's security officials and representatives of Egyptian and international airlines to study the ways and means the FAA's new security procedures would be applied. Some changes travellers will see in Egyptian airports include a more thorough check-in process. Check-in counter staff will be expected to question passengers about carrying knives, scissors or other sharp objects and carry-on luggage is to be very carefully examined and opened for inspection.
Outside the terminals, police searched every car entering the parking area. People had to produce identification papers and plane tickets to enter the terminal. While all this could lengthen procedures, many passengers seemed to take comfort in the increased security. "They checked everything very thoroughly," stated Hala, a young woman who was taking a domestic flight to Hurghada. "I don't mind the extra wait if it means greater security."
On Saturday, security authorities were informed that explosives had been planted at a Cairo airport control tower. It was a false alert, and no explosives were found after a two-hour search. Rigorous checks are of tantamount importance, as so far, the only airports cleared by the FAA in the Middle East are Cairo Airport and King Khaled's Airport in Riyadh. "We are studying emergency procedures to face the transfer of flights from neighbouring countries to Cairo," said Abdel-Aziz Badr, head of the Cairo Airport Authority. FAA inspectors were said to be supervising security checks at Cairo Airport, but this was not confirmed by airport officials.
With the scent of war pervading the Middle East, national experts predict a slow travel season this year. A number of cultural and political events scheduled to take place in Egypt in the coming few weeks have been cancelled and others are likely to face the same fate.
Recently, TWA shut its offices in Egypt and laid off 149 employees, due to tough competition from Delta Airlines. The latter, which was due to resume flights on 13 September, has stopped its flights between Cairo and New York until 4 October. The national airline, EgyptAir, resumed its flights to the US on Tuesday with 319 passengers on board.
At Cairo Airport's EgyptAir office, Scott Williams, 48, an engineer from Los Angeles, was eager to leave but could not find a seat on Tuesday's flight. "We are still trying to re-book people who had their flights cancelled, and the security screening process will take a little longer than before," said an EgyptAir officer.
A senior EgyptAir official, who requested anonymity, told the Weekly that the airline plans to resume its normal schedule to the US, but added that it is yet to be determined whether they will keep the original schedule or make "certain amendments". Last weeks terrorist attacks dealt their own blow to EgyptAir, which found one of its planes impounded in New York for five days. When the Boeing 777 was finally permitted to return back to Cairo, a steward was detained by the FBI, apparently to question him on a domestic flight he was booked on last week to visit his American ex-wife and children.
EgyptAir had to demonstrate that it had implemented the new FAA security procedures to get the permission to fly back from the US. "What really worries us is that such tight rules and measures will affect the E-class and low-cost flights," an EgyptAir source told the Weekly. "It could be worse if the European civil aviation authorities imposed similar rules."
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