First Egyptian flight in over three decades takes off for Iran

The first commercial flight from Egypt to Iran in more than three decades has taken off from the Cairo airport for the Iranian capital city, Tehran.
The flight, which is operated by Egypt’s Air Memphis, left Cairo for Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Saturday morning.

The Egyptian plane reportedly had eight Iranian passengers, including two diplomats, on board.

Earlier in March, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Wael El-Maadawy said charter flights between Iran and Egypt would link Upper Egyptian touristic cities of Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel with the Islamic Republic.

Tehran and Cairo also signed a memorandum of understanding in March to boost cooperation between the two sides in the tourism sector.

In February, Egypt’s Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou signed an agreement on operating non-stop flights between the two countries during a visit to Iran.

Direct air travel between Iran and Egypt came to a halt after the two countries severed bilateral relations following Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979.

But Tehran and Cairo moved to improve ties following the ouster of the Western-backed regime of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Many observers believe that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Cairo in February was a major step toward further improvement of bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic and post-revolution Egypt.