Manar inspected the airport to check on the preparations for receiving visitors and ensuring aviation flow during the winter season.
He also followed up on the implementation of all health and precautionary measures at the airport to ensure the safety of passengers and staffers.
The minister also inspected the decoration works in the vicinity of the airport, urging continuous improvement of the airport’s aesthetic image.
Manar also ordered removing any obstacles facing aviation companies operating at the airport and working to improve the services provided, including facilitating travel and arrival procedures for tourist groups.
The minister said this winter season is expected to see a rise in the number of international and domestic flights compared to the same period last year.
This comes especially while a flight service between Upper Egypt’s Luxor and the Red Sea city of Sharm El-Sheikh is set to be launched starting 27 October in coordination with the tourism ministry.
Manar also made an inspection tour of the Cairo and Sharm El-Shiekh international airports on Friday.
National flag carrier EgyptAir will operate a weekly air service from Sharm El-Sheikh to Luxor by the end of the month, with seats available at the fixed price of EGP 1,800 ($121) per round trip, Manar and Minister of Tourism Khaled El-Enani announced in mid-October.
The ministers agreed in principle that the new air service, halted since 2015, will include one weekly flight.
The authorities will set the best timing for the new service’s weekly flight based on the visitors’ tourist programs and in a way that enables them to enjoy Luxor, a statement by the Ministry of Civil Aviation read.
The new service is part of efforts to integrate leisure and cultural tourism and allow visitors to enjoy several tourist attractions during their visit to Egypt.
The country announced earlier this year that it had vaccinated all workers in the tourism sector in its Red Sea resorts, with vaccination efforts for tourism workers in Luxor and Aswan ongoing.
Two million people work in Egypt’s tourism sector, which represents a big part of the national economy and is a main source of hard currency for the country.
In June 2020, Egypt resumed international flights after a three-month-suspension due to pandemic, opening its major tourist attractions amid strict coronavirus measures.
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