EgyptAir cabin crew strike halts international flights

In a statement this morning the airline said: “Due to EgyptAir flight attendants strike which resulted in the delay of a number of flights earlier today, EgyptAir announces the temporary suspension of the international flights departing from Cairo Airport starting 04:00 am Cairo Local Time on Friday 7th  of September till 16:00 pm of the same day so as to prevent overcapacity in the airport halls.

"EgyptAir apologises to customers for the inconveniencies resulting from this exceptional condition and   best efforts are being exerted to contain this situation. “

Operations of domestic flights operated by EgyptAir Express are not affected by the strike.

A spokesman for the cabin crew, Tamer al-Sioufi, said the strike was called for Friday after he said the airline had failed to respond to long-standing demands for better working conditions. An airline official said EgyptAir was negotiating with the striking crew.

Since the revolution and the fall in 2011 of Hosni Mubarak, strike action has hit several sectors of an economy already badly affected by plummeting tourism revenues and reduced investment from overseas.

But Egypt has seen little change to its economic policy since the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammad Mursi won the presidency in June.