The "ghost airline" Air Sinai, renamed Air Sphinx, should have been in the air as a low-cost airline for a long time. The preparations are largely complete, but the government of Egypt has now decided that the project will be put on hold indefinitely.

The "new" carrier should liven up Sphinx International Airport, which is currently little used by airlines. The primary aim was to offer cheap flights from neighboring countries and Europe in order to attract additional tourists to the country. To a lesser extent, Air Sphinx would also operate domestic flights. The project was announced a long time ago, but there were repeated delays, which the government justified - for example - with the corona pandemic.

Just a few weeks ago the Ministry of Transport announced that Air Sphinx would be launched in winter 2022/23. Now everything is different, because the project is indefinitely on hold. However, the AOC and the operating license should not be postponed, because Air Sinai, renamed Air Sphinx, should continue to fly for Egyptair and other Egyptian carriers. They want to keep the option open at a later date of bringing the planned low-coster into the air.

For the time being, the focus in this segment is on Air Cairo. The company is to expand further and open up new business areas. This also includes the fact that the first regional jets of the Embraer 190 type will soon be flown into the fleet. With these one wants to serve routes on which the use of machines of the size class Airbus A320/Boeing 737 would be uneconomical due to lack of demand.

Air Sphinx is a subsidiary of the state-owned Egyptair. The company was originally founded to operate flights between Egypt and Tel Aviv, which officially did not exist. The existence of the carrier and the flight offer were denied, giving Air Sinai a reputation as a "ghost airline". In the meantime, the diplomatic climate between Egypt and Israel has improved significantly, so that there is no longer a need for a "front company". On the basis of this carrier, a new low-cost airline was to be set up under the name Air Sphinx. This project is now indefinitely on hold.