Cairo embassy urging Koreans to leave Egypt

Home > National > Social Affairs

print dictionary print

Cairo embassy urging Koreans to leave Egypt

The Korean Embassy in Egypt told its citizens yesterday to leave the country because of the ongoing protests against President Hosni Mubarak’s government.

An embassy official told The Associated Press that embassy officials began calling Koreans in Egypt to advise them to return home or move to another country.

The official said that about 1,000 Koreans live in Egypt but didn’t know how many have already left. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul has also asked Koreans not to travel to Egypt.

Local companies operating in Egypt have also started taking safety precautions, according to industry sources. Korean Air, the nation’s largest carrier, said yesterday it has temporarily adjusted its schedule for flights heading from Incheon to Cairo so they don’t arrive in the African country during curfew hours from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. The airline offers three flights to Cairo with a stopover in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Flights coming back to Incheon are offered every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

“The flight that is supposed to head to Cairo on Jan. 31 [today] at 1:15 p.m. has been delayed to depart at 1:15 a.m. on Feb. 1 [tomorrow] so that the aircraft arrives in Cairo at 9:45 a.m., local time, on Feb. 1,” the carrier said in a statement. Flights back to Korea, however, remain unchanged. They depart at 11:15 a.m. local time and do not overlap with curfew hours.

“We have put together an emergency-measure team should there be a need for constant adjustment of flight schedules to Cairo and are keeping a close eye on the crisis,” said an airline official, noting it would inform passengers in advance if there are flight changes.

Local travel agencies offering trips to the Pyramids, including Hana Tour and Lotte Tour, have cancelled their packages and are advising travelers that have already booked flights to Egypt to go to other destinations.

By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]


Related Korean Article [연합]

이집트 한국 교민·주재원 출국 행렬
현대차 본부 잠정 폐쇄..KOICA 비행기표 물색
관광객 수백명 발묶여..이집트 관광 취소 잇따라
서울대 교수.학생 50명도 고립.."밤새 총성에 떨어"

사상 초유의 대규모 반정부 시위가 벌어진 이집트에서 사망자들이 속출하고 약탈 행위가 이어지자 교민과 주재원들이 잇따라 귀국길에 오르고 있다.

현대자동차와 기아자동차, 현대모비스 등 현대차그룹은 30일 이집트 수도 카이로에 있는 아프리카지역본부를 임시 폐쇄하고 주재원의 경우 중동지역 본부가 있는 두바이로, 가족은 전원 귀국토록 조치했다.

이에 따라 현대차 소속 주재원 9명과 기아차 3명, 모비스 1명은 이날 오후 두바이행 비행기에 탑승하고, 이들의 가족 36명은 두바이와 바레인 등을 경유해 한국으로 돌아갈 예정이다.

이집트에서 공장을 가동하고 있는 LG전자 현지 법인은 주재원의 가족 30명에 대해 희망자에 한해 귀국을 지원하기로 했고, 삼성전자 지사도 가족들을 공항 근처 호텔에 투숙해놓은 뒤 내달 1일께 한국행 비행기에 탑승토록 하는 방향으로 계획을 세워놓고 있다. …

http://news.joins.com/article/977/4997977.html?ctg=
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)