May 14 – The row between Saudi and Egyptian aviation authorities over airlines from both countries landing at their airports is because of the open-sky policy, said the Saudi Authority for Civil Aviation GACA spokesman Khaled Al-Khaibari. He spoke to reporters on Thursday in response to an article about the dispute between GACA and the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA).
The article in question quoted ECAA’s chief Sameh Hanafi saying flights had come to a halt between Cairo and Madinah because of disagreement between both countries, adding that King Abdulaziz International Airport receives 21 Egypt Air flights in Jeddah per week. As a response to this, Al-Khaibari said that Egypt Air flights hit 56 per week during hajj and umrah seasons. This, he said, shows the Saudi government’s commitment to the open-sky policy which includes Egypt Air and other budget airlines from the country. GACA, he said, has no problems with Egyptian airlines operating in the Kingdom as long as they stick to the latter’s safety requirements.
