The North African countries of Morocco and Egypt on May 5 finalized a renewed Bilateral Air Servcies Agreement which will see frequencies between the countries doubled from the previous seven, to fourteen weekly for each country's respective designated carrier(s). According to the head of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN), Engineer Magdy Abd El-Hady Hafez, the revised BASA also allows for Egyptair (MS) to serve other cities outside of Casablanca, including the Moroccan capital, Rabat.
Eng Hafez went on to add that the EHCAAN has begun negotiations with "several countries to increase air traffic rights" with a delegation from the Civil Aviation Authority set to travel to Turkey for an agreement with the Turks.
Egyptian paper, El Sabanh reports that the revised Turkish BASA, set to replace one originally negotiated in 1950, has provision for an increase in the number of flights as required by Turkey between Cairo, Alexandria/Burj Al Arab and Istanbul to 28 frequencies per week instead of the current 21. The Egyptian side will call for further landing points in Turkey for Egyptian airlines.
