Egyptian billionaire slams UK, Germany for Cairo flights suspension

The Egyptian businessman, Naguib Sawiris, yesterday criticised the British and German authorities for their recent suspension of flights to Egypt’s capital of Cairo.

“Terrorism happens all over the world, I’m pissed off,” Sawiris said on Twitter, adding: “Whoever wants to visit Egypt is welcome anytime.”

Addressing the UK and Germany’s governments, he said: “Why don’t you inform our security authorities if you have information about an imminent terrorist attack in Egypt.”

So if security agencies in the west have information on a possible terror attack in Egyot that caused BA and Lufthansa to stop flights to Egypt why not inform Egyptian security forces? Instead of this double standard isn’t it a common war on terror ?

— Naguib Sawiris (@NaguibSawiris) July 21, 2019

“Isn’t it what you call a joint war against terrorism,” the Egyptian billionaire continued, describing the move as “cowardice Western principals.”

Sawiris was reported to have attached the Iraqi flag to his post, an act that has sparked questions by lots of social media activists. Some claimed that he had put it by mistake, while others thought that Sawiris had deliberately put it for some “hidden interests.” He later said that he had put it “by mistake.”

On Saturday, UK’s national airline, British Airways, suspended flights to Cairo for seven days for what it said to be “a security precaution.” Germany’s Lufthansa followed suit later, cancelling all its flights from Munich and Frankfort to Cairo, but the German flights were resumed on Sunday.

Tourism, a key source of foreign revenue for Egypt, has been recovering after visitor numbers dropped in the wake of a 2011 uprising and the 2015 bombing of a Russian jet, which killed all 224 people on board shortly after takeoff.

That attack, which was claimed by Daesh, prompted Russia to halt all flights to Egypt for several years and a number of countries including Britain to cease flights to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which have yet to resume.

Egypt: 15-year-old girl detained for stabbing her rapist