Only 10 percent of all air traffic controllers are working in Egypt's Cairo International Airport due to the suspension of international flights amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a source in the airport told Sputnik on Wednesday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th April, 2020) Only 10 percent of all air traffic controllers are working in Egypt's Cairo International Airport due to the suspension of international flights amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a source in the airport told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"There is consistency in the air traffic control's work, even if there are no flights, [or], for example, if there is a transit aircraft. [However], the number of observers in the airport has decreased to only 10 percent of the usual number. Two of these air controllers are operating in the tower 24 hours a day, while the rest of the week is counted as vacation," the source said.
The source also noted that there are currently no more than 12 flights per day compared to the period before the crisis, when the daily average number was almost 150.
"The movements are limited to cargo aircraft and planes that return Egyptians stranded abroad, there are no regular flights," the source added, saying that, however, the number of flights was going up at present because of the Umrah season of the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, during the fasting month of Ramadan.
The source also said that the airport's workers followed up precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.
In March, the Egyptian government declared the suspension of air traffic in all of the country's airports amid the pandemic.
As of Wednesday, the Egyptian Health Ministry has registered 5,042 COVID-19 cases in the country with 359 coronavirus-related deaths.
