EgyptAir's losses reach $900m: minister

Egypt’s national airline, EgyptAir, incurred losses of about 30 billion Egyptian pounds ($990 million) until 30 June 2022 due to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, in addition to the increase in jet fuel prices, the minister of aviation said on Monday.

Mohamed Abbas Helmi added that in 2021, EgyptAir obtained a loan of five billion Egyptian pounds (170 million) to pay the salaries of its employees, noting that a large part of the current losses were carried forward from previous years.

He added that EgyptAir suffered from a period of instability between 2011 and 2014 due to the events that took place in the country. During that period, around 4,000 workers, including seasonal workers, were hired, bringing the total number of employees to 28,000 workers.

Helmy stated that the aviation system in the country was subjected to unstable conditions after 2015 as a result of the crash of a Russian passenger plane with 224 people on board in the Sinai Peninsula. By 2019, the situation had stabilised to a large extent but the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted air travel once again.

READ: EgyptAir to resume daily flights to Russia