Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will start its service to Alexandria in Egypt from July.

The service, which is subject to government approval, will operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from Abu Dhabi to El Nouzha airport in Alexandria.

“Etihad is pleased to announce this new service to Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city,” James Hogan, Etihad Airways chief executive, said Thursday.

The new service will offer travellers convenient onward connections via Abu Dhabi to a number of key destinations across the airline’s global network, including Australia, China, Japan and the Indian sub-continent.

Source: Sindh Today News (http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/2/152044.htm)

El Al, the national airline of Israel, has announced the its newest destination: the popular beach resort of Eilat, located on the Red Sea. Beginning August 1, El Al will offer three daily roundtrip flights every Sunday through Thursday as well as one daily roundtrip flight every Friday morning and Saturday evening.

Passengers have the option to travel to Eilat on the way to Israel, on the way home, or in the middle of their vacation. A special roundtrip fare of $40 from Ben Gurion Airport to Eilat is available when purchasing the roundtrip El Al flight from the U.S. to Israel.

The debut flight, appropriately named “El Al Red Sea,” will depart from Terminal 1 at Ben GurionAirport, as will all El Al flights to/from from Eilat. For passengers beginning or ending their trip in Eilat, El Al allows the same hand luggage and checked baggage allowance as on the flights to/from the U.S.

Source: Travel Agent Central (http://www.travelagentcentral.com/israel/el-al-launch-service-eliat-22265)

For the past five years archaeologists have been searching around the temple of Taposiris Magna, about 28 miles (45 kilometers) west of the port city of Alexandria (map), in hopes of finding the couple’s graves.

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The Sahl Hasheesh International Resort Community – which will comprise civic centres, a university, schools, a business park, villas and a hotel resort – is set to be the biggest resort development in the world.

WATG, the firm behind a number of high profile hospitality projects in Dubai and elsewhere in the Middle East, was chosen by the Egyptian Resorts Company (ERC) to design phase III of the development, having also won an international competition to design phase two of the scheme.

“It was important for the client to have a development that was viable,” said Perry Brown, senior vice president of WATG. “This master plan was originally only a resort community, but the client envisions a development that includes appropriate civic infrastructure to support the resort development.”

The vision for the master plan is to tell the story of Egypt’s heritage through the landscape design. The plan includes a landscape structure of open-space corridors that depict the history of Egypt, from its fertile valleys and desert oases to its rich history of civilisation throughout the centuries.

Source: Construction Week Online (http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-8391-watg-to-design-worlds-biggest-resort-in-egypt/)

Ahmed Shafik told the parliament that that the measure was to protect the state owned airline, EgyptAir.

He described the open sky policy as “a big cheat,” saying the unregulated flights of budget Saudi airlines SAMA and NAS was taking business away from the Egyptian carrier.

Egypt does not have budget airlines of its own.

The aviation flap comes during a period chilling ties between the countries.

In March Egypt banned the Kingdom’s two budget airlines, SAMA and NAS, from landing in Cairo arguing that their cheap prices negatively affect Egyptian.

After the March order banning the Saudi flights, the kingdom responded by barring EgyptAir from flying to the holy city of Medina where tens of thousands of Egyptian pilgrims flock every year.

Source: Business Week (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9FOO19G0.htm)

Tour companies must continue to foot the bill for tour groups who overstay and if lodgers are traveling solo, hotels are obliged to offer them low rates. If travelers are in financial trouble, they have been advised to contact their embassies.

Stranded Europeans are taking full advantage.

“The travel agent, they pay all for us, room, food, drinks, everything,” said Ulf Daahlbom of Gothenburg Sweden.  He took a five hour taxi ride from Hurghada to take in the sites in Cairo.  “It was beautiful here.  I have been at the Pyramids and the Egyptian museum.” 

Two engineers from Ireland and Scotland couldn’t conceal their smiles as they sat in the shade of a tree after a day in 100 degree heat at the Pyramids and Egyptian Museum.  They had been on their way back home from work in the Suez Canal zone when they were obliged to take an all-expense paid vacation. 

Charlotte Krum, a stewardess for Scandinavian Air, has nothing to go back for since her airline has been grounded.  She and her husband and four children were on a Red Sea get-away when spewing volcanic ash extended their stay.  “It’s nice for us to have the opportunity to show them [the children] all the sites in Cairo,” she said. “We just came from the Pyramids and now we go to the museum.  We are trying to make the best out of it.”

Krum and her family came to Cairo to try and get a flight to Greece, but seemed in no hurry. Traveler’s insurance covered the first four days of their stay.  “Everything has been working out quite well.  We have some nice rooms here.”

Egypt jealously protects its biggest money earner: tourism.  About 12 million tourists, at least 65 percent of them from Europe, bring in about 11 billion dollars a year and 12.6 percent of the workforce lives off of tourism.  All guests are welcome, even those who overstay. 

While many hotels over overbooked, EgyptAir and other regional carriers sit idle on the tarmac.  They are suffering to the tune of 250 million dollars a day.  Before noon on Monday, more than 16 planes were grounded on Cairo’s tarmacs.

But in Egypt’s airports, you won’t find hapless visitors trying to catch some sleep on makeshift bedrolls, or slumped in plastic chairs. Tour guides are under strict orders not to drop anyone off at the airport until they have confirmed their flights.

Source: MSNBC (http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/04/19/2274604.aspx)

Revenue increased to $2.7 billion for the three months through March, Zoheir Garranah said in a telephone interview today from the city of Luxor in southern Egypt. Tourist arrivals advanced 29 percent to 3.46 million visitors, he said.

“We have completely rebounded,” Garranah said. “But still I believe this country deserves more.”

The Egyptian economy depends on tourism, foreign direct investment and the Suez Canal for foreign currency. Tourism, which accounts for more than 12 percent of jobs, generated $10.76 billion in 2009, according to the ministry.

The economy of Egypt, home to the Pyramids of Giza, grew 4.7 percent in the fiscal year through June, beating the forecast of the International Monetary Fund. The government expects the economy to grow more than 5 percent this fiscal year.

Besides its historical attractions, Egypt also draws tourists seeking sun, sand and diving along its Red Sea coast and in the Sinai Peninsula. Russia maintained its position as the main source of tourists to the Arab country, with arrivals from the country growing 93.5 percent in the first quarter and revenue increasing 80 percent over the same period in 2009, the minister said.

Source: Business Week (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-15/egypt-tourism-revenue-surges-as-tourists-flock-back-update1-.html)

The Greco-Roman tombs, in Bahariya Oasis, 300 km (190 miles) southwest of Cairo, were discovered during probes that indicated they may be part of a much larger necropolis.

A 97-cm (38-inch) tall female mummy, found in the stair-lined interior of one of the rock-hewn tombs, was cast in colored plaster inlaid with jewelry and eyes.

Bahariya Oasis is home to Egypt’s famed Valley of the Golden Mummies, where a collection of 17 tombs with about 254 mummies was discovered in 1996.

Source: All About Egypt (http://allaboutegypt.org/2010/04/ancient-tombs-found-at-bahariya-oasis/)