U.S. issues Egypt travel alert
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert Friday advising U.S. citizens to defer all nonessential travel to Egypt in light of Friday’s violent political demonstrations.
"Demonstrations have degenerated on several occasions into violent clashes between police and protesters, resulting in injuries and extensive property damage," the State Department said. "While demonstrations have not been directed toward Westerners, U.S. citizens are urged to remain alert to local security developments and to be vigilant regarding their personal security."
Uprisings took place throughout Cairo and in other parts of the country on Friday, disrupting road travel between city centers and airports, the State Department reported.
Internet and cell phone service had been disconnected by the government, which also imposed a curfew from 6 p.m to 7:00 a.m. in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, until further notice.
The State Department advised U.S. citizens in Egypt to remain in their residences or hotels until the situation stabilizes. It also advised U.S. citizens to avoid all demonstrations, "as even peaceful ones can quickly become unruly and a foreigner could become a target of harassment or worse."
U.S. visitors in the country were advised to ask tour guides and hotel officials about any planned demonstrations in the locations they plan to visit, and to carry identification and a cell phone that works in Egypt.
The alert expires on Feb. 28, 2011. As tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the streets of Cairo and throughout Egypt Friday in a show of opposition to President Hosni Mubarak, travel companies are closely monitoring the delicate situation and are scaling back on departures to the popular North African destination.
Abercrombie & Kent has canceled departures through Feb. 1 and will reassess the situation after the weekend.
"Today they made a curfew, clients are in their hotels," said Abercrombie & Kent spokeswoman Pamela Lassers. "We have an A&K staff member at every hotel to assist them with everything.
"Up until today there’s been only a minor effect on the sightseeing. Clients have been able to go pretty much everywhere as scheduled. We made some minor adjustments."
Lassers said Friday that A&K has received about seven phone calls from concerned clients and travelers with upcoming trips. This is the high travel season for Egypt.
Ronen Paldi, president of Ya’lla Tours USA, said the tour operator is getting cancellations from FIT and group travelers. "But it’s all people that are due [in Egypt] in the next 96 hours," said Paldi.
Trafalgar Tours canceled all departures to Egypt up to and including Feb. 12. Customers may choose alternative tours or opt for a full refund.
The decision came just after the State Department issued a travel alert Friday advising against all nonessential travel to Egypt.
"We will continually assess the forward situation and make announcements as appropriate," Trafalgar said in a statement. "Clients who remain in Egypt are of course being looked after by our representatives and continuing with their itineraries as appropriate to the situation. Guests choosing to return home are also being accommodated according to flight availability."
U.K. tour operator Thomas Cook on Friday suspended excursions to Cairo from Red Sea resorts due to continuing anti-government demonstrations, Travel Weekly UK reported.
EgyptAir, the country’s national carrier, has suspended its flights from Cairo for 12 hours, following a government-imposed curfew from 6 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday in response to the escalating demonstrations and rioting.
Delta canceled its Friday night flight to Cairo. British Airways postponed its Friday evening Cairo departure to Saturday morning.
Protestors throughout the country clashed with police in major cities like Alexandria, the Mediterranean port city where cruise ships dock.
MSC Cruises said that the Magnifica and Splendida will skip calls in Alexandria on Sunday and Monday. The Magnifica will instead call at Limassol, Cyprus and Haifa, Israel, while the Splendida visits Marmaris and Izmir, Turkey.
Norwegian Cruise Line canceled the Norwegian Jade‘s overnight call in Alexandria on Saturday. The ship will instead divert to Istanbul, where it will stay until Monday.
A big challenge for travel companies in trying to evaluate the situation is that the Egyptian government disconnected cell phone and Internet service in the country, making it necessary to communicate with contacts on the ground in Egypt via land lines.