Will new Red Sea airport spark development on Egypt-Sudan border?
With the opening of a new international airport in the Red Sea, residents of the disputed Halayeb and Shalateen region are hoping the government will step up development efforts.
CAIRO — For the first time since its inauguration in January 2020, the Red Sea’s Berenice International Airport received the first passenger aircraft June 7. With 60 passengers on board, the flight was welcomed with a water salute, a universal welcoming ritual involving spraying water over the first airplane that lands at a new airport.
According to Egypt’s Aviation Ministry, the airport aims to boost inbound tourism given that the area is rich in tourist attractions and has a unique coastline.
Officials and observers believe the airport is a positive development for the Red Sea area, which is rich in minerals and lies close to the Halayeb and Shalateen triangle, on the border between Egypt and Sudan.
Rakha Ahmed Hassan, member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, told Al-Monitor that the opening of the airport is a promising start for a broader development in the area, which could resolve the dispute between Cairo and Khartoum over the Halayeb and Shalateen region on an economic basis.
