Rumors spread on social media in Egypt amid claims that the country’s airports are being sold to foreign parties, prompting the cabinet to deny the reports on Saturday.
In an official statement on its Facebook page, Egypt’s government stressed that the goal is to “offer the management and operation of airports to the private sector.”
According to the Egyptian Council of Ministers, “Egyptian airports are fully owned by the state and subject to Egyptian sovereignty.”
It added that the state is implementing an integrated strategy based on raising the efficiency of airports and increasing their capacity, through a number of infrastructure development projects, as well as upgrading security systems and modernizing all security devices at Egyptian airports.
Additionally, the state is expanding flight networks by opening new markets and supporting low-cost aviation activities, the cabinet underlined in a statement.
Member of Parliament’s Tourism and Aviation Committee, MP Mohamed Taha Al-Khouly, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government submitted a plan to Parliament last month to allow the private sector to provide some services inside airports.
This matter “will not happen randomly,” but within “an organized framework, and may require legal amendments regarding the controls regulating the private sector companies that will be present to provide some services at Egyptian airports,” he added.
According to the deputy, these services include receiving tourists, organizing the movement of taxis in the vicinity of airports, in addition to providing assistance services upon arrival, and other matters that do not directly or remotely affect Egyptian sovereignty over the airports.
Last month, the Central Bank of Egypt announced an increase in tourism sector revenues by 5.3 percent during the first 9 months of the 2023-2024 fiscal year, reaching $10.9 billion, compared to $10.3 billion in the same period of the previous year.
In 2023, Egypt received about 14.9 million tourists, an increase of 27 percent over 2022, according to a statement by the Egyptian Council of Ministers at the beginning of this year.
