Senegal signs air agreement with Egypt
In July 2021, Senegal and Egypt agreed to set up a Joint Trade Council. Through this, the two countries aim to triple their trade to over 200 million dollars over the next three years. This is to be achieved through the development of bilateral air connectivity.
The Civil Aviation Authorities of the Republic of Senegal and the Arab Republic of Egypt have signed a memorandum of understanding on air transport. The related document was initialled on the sidelines of the 34th Plenary Session of the African Civil Aviation Commission held on 14 and 15 July 2022 in Saly, Senegal. The document was signed by Sidy GUEYE, Director General of the National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology (ANACIM) and DR. ASHRAF NOWEIR, President of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Under the said agreement, the aeronautical authorities of each contracting party have the right to designate to the aeronautical authorities of the other contracting party as many airlines as they wish to operate licensed services and to withdraw, modify or replace one airline with another previously designated.
Thus Dakar designated Air Senegal to operate the agreed services while the North African country selected Air Cairo- a subsidiary of EgyptAir - to operate scheduled services between the two countries and confirmed the designation of EgyptAir Group as the Egyptian airline to operate the agreed services on the specified routes.
The two parties further agreed that the designated airlines of each contracting party will be allowed to operate initially up to seven (7) scheduled passenger flights and up to two (2) cargo flights per week without any restrictions on capacity and type of aircraft, an ANACIM statement said. Frequencies will be gradually increased according to market needs and traffic volumes.
It is expected that the establishment of an air link between the two countries will help boost economic exchanges, estimated at 67.6 million dollars in 2020. The number of Egyptians living in Senegal is estimated at around 250, according to consular sources.
