Cairo: British Airways has resumed its flights to the Egyptian capital, ending a week-long suspension the airline deemed a precautionary measure that drew official criticism in Egypt.
Late Friday, the BA flight 155 arrived in Cairo from the Heathrow airport in London with 200 passengers aboard, sources at Cairo airport.
Saturday morning, a second BA flight left the Egyptian capital for London "without any problem", the sources added.
Last week, the airline announced an abrupt halt to its Cairo flights, citing unspecified security concerns. The unilateral step was made as Egypt's vital tourism is vigorously rallying from years of the doldrums.
Egyptian authorities said the airline had suspended its flights without consulting them. Egyptian Minister of Aviation Younis Al Masry expressed dismay over the decision at a meeting with the British ambassador in Cairo.
Earlier this week, BA said it would resume its flights to and from Cairo, following what it called a "thorough security assessment".
Once a major foreign currency earner for Egypt, the tourism industry bore the brunt of the upheavals that followed the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The industry further suffered due to a spate of militant attacks that gripped Egypt after the army’s 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi, following enormous street protests against his rule.
Since taking office in mid-2014, incumbent President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi has largely re-established stability in Egypt.
In October, 2015, Egyptian tourism suffered a new hard blow when a Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai shortly after its departure from the popular resort of Sharm Al Shaikh.
All 224 people on board were killed. Russia said the jet had been brought down by a terrorist bomb and halted all flights to Egypt. Daesh claimed responsibility for the alleged bombing. Last year, Russia restarted its flights to Cairo.
