Clashes at Borg el-Arab Airport

Airport has now been closed Alexandria – Ahmed Khaled Clashes between civil aviation workers and airport security erupted at Borg el-Arab International Airport in Alexandria on Sunday after workers tried to stop security personnel from closing the airport, airport director Hani Akkab said. Akkab said airport security attacked passengers' lounges, broke glass fronts, trashed offices and several vehicles belonging to the airport, and cut off electrical and Internet cables. He said losses and damages are estimated at approximately EGP £1.5 million, not counting losses sustained by airliners the flights of which had to be suspended. Akkab said the incident has been reported to the police and is set to be investigated. The Civil Aviation Authority at the airport had announced it would close until further notice after a number of security and immigration employees staged a sit-in in the runway. The airport policing personnel's protest was part of a string of strikes seeking specific demands at the airport. Flights set to land at Borg el-Arab, Egypt's second largest and busiest airport after Cairo International Airport, have been diverted to other Egyptian airports. Similar labour issues are already underway at Cairo International Airport where immigration employees have threatened to strike against the dismissal of their demand for the reinstatement of departure fees, cancelled in 2003. Cairo International Airport security personnel held a protest last Thursday for the same demand.