Alex Young

Egyptair is the state-owned flag carrier of Egypt. headquartered at Cairo International Airport, its central hub, operating services to 81 destinations worldwide.

 

Alan Muntz, the chairman of Airwork, visited Egypt in 1931 and started a new airline in 1932. The airline was named Misr Airwork, becoming the seventh carrier worldwide.

 

In 1933, Misr Airwork opened its first route to Alexandria using de Havilland DH.84.

 

In 1949, the Egyptian government became the company's sole shareholder and changed its name to Misrair SAE.

 

After Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic in 1958, Misrair was rebranded to United Arab Airlines (UAA).

 

In 1960, the first jetliner of UAA entered service. Since then, many jetliners have been used to expand UAA's international routes. Syria's association with UAA ended in October 1961, when Syrian Arab Airways was established by the Syrian government in Damascus; the route network and fleet that had been taken over by UAA were returned to the new company.

 

In 1971, due to the dissolution of the United Arab Republic, UAA was rebranded to Egyptair.

 

In 1973, the Yom Kippur War outbreak greatly affected EgyptAir's operation. The company was forced to suspend operations on several international routes, including the route to Tokyo. It was not until the fighting had primarily subsided that the company resumed operations on all routes.

 

In 2002, EgyptAir underwent a significant restructuring. Republic Decree 137 transformed EgyptAir from a government organization into a holding company with the right to operate without government interference.

 

In 2008, EgyptAir became a member of Star Alliance.

 

After the 2011 revolution, due to the rising fuel prices, the devaluation of the Egyptian currency, and ongoing strikes within the company, Egyptair suffered considerable losses. Despite this, EgyptAir is still the second-largest airline in Africa and one of the best airlines among the arabic countries.