Cairo and Tehran appears to have come to naught, though neither country has announced why.
In late September, Iran announced with great fanfare that Tehran-Cairo flights would be resumed after three decades. It was widely seen as a step toward the normalization of relations, although Egyptian officials insisted there was no connection between diplomatic relations and air flights.
There were to be 24 flights a week, a substantial volume.
The inaugural flight was reported to have been made October 5 with an Egyptian aircraft making the run carrying an Iranian voice president.
Since then, there have apparently been no flights.
The Iran Times has periodically checked the online listing of arrivals and departures from Imam Khomeini International Airport south of Tehran. It has not seen a single flight from or to Cairo listed.
In late October, the Iranian Students News Agency said, “Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Ahmad Muhammad Shafiq said it is unlikely that there will be an immediate beginning of flights between Tehran and Cairo.”
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed by Iran in 1979 after Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel. Iran has been publicly eager to resume relations, but Egypt has shown little interest. Several years ago, Iran was allowed to open a low-grade mission in Cairo, but Egypt has not allowed it to be upgraded.
