Egypt to loan EgyptAir $127 mln to help it through coronavirus crisis

Egypt’s government will lend EgyptAir 2 billion Egyptian pounds ($127.39 million) due to the impact of the coronavirus on its operations, the finance ministry said.

A member of the Star Alliance led by Germany’s Lufthansa, EgyptAir halted regular international flights on March 19 when the government closed the country’s airports to combat the spread of the virus.

The government will support state-owned EgyptAir until it returns to 80% of its 2019 operations, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

EgyptAir has continued flying some domestic routes and repatriation flights for citizens stranded abroad.

Egypt is allowing hotels to reopen for domestic tourists on condition they operate at no more than 25% capacity until the end of May.

From June 1, hotels will be allowed to work at up to 50% capacity.

The virus has shut down Egypt’s tourist sector, which accounts for 12%-15% of gross domestic product, leading to losses estimated at $1 billion per month.

($1 = 15.7000 Egyptian pounds)