Air Sinai

Air Sinai (Arabic: سيناء للطيران‎ Sīna' lil-Ṭayyarān) is an airline based in Cairo, Egypt. It operates as a 'paper-airline' for parent company EgyptAir under a wet lease-like agreement[1] to serve flights exclusively between Egypt and Israel.

Air Sinai
IATA ICAO Callsign
4D ASD Air Sinai
Founded1982
HubsCairo International Airport
Focus citiesBen Gurion International Airport
Fleet size2
Destinations2
Parent companyEgyptAir Airlines Company
HeadquartersCairo, Egypt

History
Air Sinai‘s own livery, used in the 1980s
Unmarked Embraer 170 in basic EgyptAir Express livery used by Air Sinai

The airline was established in 1982 to fly scheduled services between Egypt and Israel (on routes previously flown by Nefertiti Aviation), which for political reasons could not be handled by parent company EgyptAir. Services started using a Boeing 737-200 leased from EgyptAir and new routes from Egypt's tourist destinations followed. By the mid-1980s a Fokker F27 Friendship was also in use on these services.

During 1982, a Boeing 707-320C, reg N18712 (c/n 19226, ex TWA) was leased and operated on behalf of EgyptAir on their flights to Europe, especially twice weekly MS782/781 Cairo-Copenhagen v.v.

Air Sinai ceased airline operations in its own right in 2002 and operates as a 'paper airline' for its parent company, EgyptAir, using their aircraft without any markings identifying either carrier, although some have been spotted in Tel Aviv in full EgyptAir branding. Flights are not listed in EgyptAir schedules and do not appear on their website or route maps either.[1][2]

As of 2014 Air Sinai flights are displayed on arrival and departure boards at Cairo Airport using the IATA code 4D.

Destinations

Air Sinai serves the following destinations on behalf of Egyptair.[2]

Egypt
Israel
  • Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion International Airport

Fleet

Due to the nature of its operations, Air Sinai uses two unmarked Airbus A220 aircraft, SU-GFA & SU-GFD owned by EgyptAir to operate its flights. Other types, including larger aircraft are also used based on operational requirements, with EgyptAir markings then being removed. On some occasions, EgyptAir branded aircraft have also been utilised.

In September 2019, it was announced the airline would replace Embraer 170 operations with Airbus A220 aircraft operated by EgyptAir from 1 March 2020.[3] In December 2019, the first Airbus A220 flight was moved forward to 9 December 2019.[4]

See also

Airlines created for political reasons:

References
  1. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 66.
  2. "Hush hush on Egypt's phantom flight to Israel". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  3. "Air Sinai schedules Airbus A220 service from March 2020". routesonline.com. 16 September 2019.
  4. Liu, Jim (6 December 2019). "Air Sinai moves forward A220 service to Dec 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
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