Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri announced on Wednesday that he would appoint a civilian minister of civilian aviation in his new cabinet.

El-Ganzouri’s statement came after Egyptian pilots threatened to close Egyptian airspace on Thursday morning if the prime minister did not appoint a civilian to head the ministry.

Employees of the ministry at the Cairo International Airport and Egypt Air have long demanded the appointment of a civilian minister rather than a military officer to run the ministry, and struck several times after Mubarak was ousted in February 2011 overthe issue.

In addition, El-Ganzouri announced the return of the Ministry of Food Supply, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the creation of a Ministry of Revolution's Martyrs Affairs.

There has been much speculation about the makeup of the new cabinet especially after several prominent figures refused posts, such as prominent journalists Adel Hammouda and Magdy El-Galad who both turned down the minister of information position.

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