Suspending Egyptian pilot responsible for delaying Gaza's airplane trip
Egypt-Palestine, Local, 9/13/2000

Egypt Airlines Company decided to suspend Egyptian pilot Ali Murad to to investigate him in the accident where he refused to allow Israeli security men to get on an Egyptian airplane in Gaza airport.

Pilot Ali Murad was flying the trip between Cairo and Gaza on last Friday when the Israeli security men tried to inspect the airplane with their weapons according to the civil aviation rules in the consideration that the Egyptian airplane is an Egyptian land of sovereignty.

Yet Mohammed Fahim Rayan, head of Egyptian airlines company said that the return of the pilot without passengers caused a lot of losses to the company as another airplane was sent to complete the trip, adding that there is an Egyptian - Palestinian - Israeli agreement that allows the Israelis to inspect the airplanes in Gaza airport.

Ali Murad said "there are written and clear instructions for the pilot that are issued by the Egyptian foreign ministry and the operations concerning inspecting the Egyptian airplane by the Israeli armed forces, accordingly, the decision was made to inspect the airplane by the Israeli armed forces."

He also demanded to blame Israel for the return of airplane without passengers saying "what I have done does not prevent the passengers to get on the airplane."

Previous Stories:
  Meetings of the Egyptian - Palestinian committee July   (7/1/2000)
  Five Egyptian private companies request internal air trips rights   (3/13/2000)
  EgyptAir ends service of fugitive pilot   (2/19/2000)
  Fair for Egyptian products in Gaza   (12/3/1999)
  Gaza: Refugees so close to their homes, yet so far away!   (10/8/1999)

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