Egypt has announced resuming flights at all Egyptian airports on July 1 with other countries that have opened their airports, according to Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar.
Tourism Minister, Khaled al-Anani, who was at the news conference also announced a couple of measures that will be taken inside the planes, at airports and hotels.
1) All tourist visas to touristic governorates (Red Sea, South Sinai, and Matrouh) will be cancelled until October 31, 2020.
2) The current flight stimulus program will be extended until October 29, 2020.
3) The Ministry of Petroleum granted a reduction in aviation fuel prices to 10 cents per gallon.
4) The Ministry of Civil Aviation granted airlines a 50 percent discount on landing and boarding fees.
5) The Ministry of Aviation also gave a 20 percent reduction in services they provide for any planes flying directly to touristic governorates in Egypt until October 31, 2020.
6) The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is giving a 20 percent discount on tickets for everyone visiting museums and archaeological sites under the auspices of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
7) The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities also approved discounts on visit permits for tourists arriving on Egypt Air and Cairo Air for the duration of 15 days.
Reuters wrote that travelers from countries with high rates of COVID-19 (according to the World Health Organization (WHO) assessments) will need to be tested before coming to Egypt.
For Egypt, tourism is a critical industry. Ahram Online explained that the government has recently allowed some hotels to open their doors at reduced occupancy rates while they adhere to certain safety measures. All of this is meant to revive tourism, the hardest hit industry in Egypt due to COVID-19.
Today, Egypt reported 1,618 new COVID-19 cases with 91 deaths raising the total number of cases to 44,598 and total number of deaths to 1,575. Moreover, 13,332 originally positive cases have tested negative and 11,931 cases have fully recovered.
