EgyptAir has restarted its direct flight from Heathrow to Luxor this week, as the country gears up for new attractions opening in a landmark year next year.
Egyptair’s Heathrow to Luxor’s service took off on Monday and will run once a week.
Speaking at WTM, EgyptAir’s regional manager UK & Ireland, Mohamed Mostafa, said: “It’s very good at this time to take passengers directly, not via Cairo. Still, we have the option if [passengers] would like to come back via Cairo.”
He added that there has already been a good amount of demand for this route.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s minister for tourism and antiquities, Khaled El-Anany, expects 2022 to be a big year for Egyptian tourism.
“We’re opening the Grand Egyptian Museum, and in November we’ll be organising a huge parade in Luxor,” he said.
“It’s the 100-year anniversary of [discovering the tomb of] Tutankhamun, and the British are very much connected to his discovery. It’s 200 years of the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone and the birthday of Egyptology was 27 September 1822, so it’s a very special year next year.”
The popular tourist resort of Sharm El-Sheikh has also reopened, and El-Anany said 5,000 extra rooms in the Red Sea area were opened since Covid-19.
Egypt was removed from the UK’s red list in September, and entry requirements into Egypt are “very flexible”, El-Anany said. The country will accept those who have been fully vaccinated, or who have taken a PCR test up to three days before arrival, or they can take a PCR test on arrival at the airport for $30.
However, the country has a number of strict measures in place should any tourist develop symptoms.
“They are kept in the hotel, treated without any extra charges,” said El-Anany. “If it’s a severe case, they are transferred to the hospital and all expenses are covered by the Egyptian government in the state hospitals.”