Dulles International Airport in the US capital Washington this morning celebrated the arrival of the first flight from Cairo of EgyptAir, the 21st member of the global Star Alliance, at 5:10 a.m. local time. Flight MS981 carried 150 passengers aboard the company's newest Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
Airport officials welcomed the flight with the traditional salute of spraying water over the aircraft in arcs from both sides to celebrate the occasion.
The route will link the US capital Washington with Cairo through direct flights to this important destination in North America, with 3 weekly flights to Washington on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The service is the latest step in the strategic expansion plan across the United States, and EgyptAir is studying gradually increasing frequencies to a daily flight, in addition to the company's daily flight to New York.
For his part, Ambassador Yasser Reda, Egypt's ambassador to the United States, said the launch of an air route between Cairo and the US capital Washington comes within the framework of the distinguished strategic and historic relations between the two countries, and that the route will boost tourism traffic between the two countries and the economic side in general through trade relations, a role EgyptAir has always played as the national carrier.
In a related context, Jerome Davis, deputy executive director of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, expressed his pleasure at EgyptAir joining the list of international airlines operating at Dulles International Airport, which sees more than 70 flights depart daily to many destinations around the world, adding that through this new service the company's customers traveling from Washington, Maryland and the Northern Virginia region will be able to travel to and reach many tourism, cultural, entertainment and investment destinations in Egypt.
It is worth noting that the aircraft was received by a high-level delegation including Egypt's ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Yasser Reda, a number of officials from the civil aviation authorities at Washington Dulles International Airport, and the company's team, represented by office manager Dalia El-Maraghy, station manager Omar Abd Rabbo and financial manager Mohamed Barrada.
The EgyptAir flight from Washington to Cairo is scheduled to depart today with 248 passengers on board, 16 of them in business class.
The Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner is the latest global model to join the EgyptAir fleet during the first half of this year. It seats 309 passengers, with 30 Diamond seats in business class and 279 seats in economy class, and is equipped with the latest means of comfort, luxury and technology to meet the needs of its traveling customers.
