By Akram Medhat
Minister of Civil Aviation Lt. Gen. Younis Al-Masry met with the chairmen of hot air balloon companies in Egypt, in the presence of Captain Sameh El-Hefny, head of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority; Captain Ahmed Gonena, head of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation; and Captain Tarek Fawzy, head of the Egyptian Airports Company.
During the meeting, the Minister of Civil Aviation listened to the difficulties and obstacles facing this activity in order to study them and work to find appropriate solutions, and reviewed the proposals they submitted to support and develop hot air ballooning. He issued a decision forming a committee headed by Captain Tarek Fawzy, head of the Egyptian Airports Company, with all heads of the balloon companies as members, to study operating systems and how to develop them while maintaining the highest safety rates in accordance with the legislation and parameters of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority.
Lt. Gen. Younis Al-Masry also directed the need to establish a unified working mechanism and methodology for all balloon companies to advance and raise the level of hot air balloon performance and increase its global competitiveness, in order to encourage balloon tourism in Egypt while maintaining air safety and aviation security in line with international standards in this field.
The Minister of Civil Aviation decided that this activity would be under the supervision of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, with the Civil Aviation Authority being the body responsible for reviewing and inspecting these companies' compliance with safety procedures, in addition to designating the Egyptian Aviation Academy as the competent body for training balloon pilots, given the academy's high-level methodology in theoretical and practical training.
