EgyptAir transports over 300 smuggled antiquities from US and France

Cairo Airport received 362 artifacts retrieved from the United States and France aboard EgyptAir flights last week.

At the airport, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el Damati and CEO of EGYPTAIR Holding Company Captain Sameh el-Hefny held a press conference to unveil all details about the restoration of the artifacts and the procedures taken for their arrival back to Egypt.

Damati praised efforts exerted by the Aviation Ministry and EgyptAir Company in coordination with the ministries of foreign affairs, finance and interior to restore the artifacts that had been spirited out of Egypt.

The Egyptian government managed to restore precious artifacts, which were smuggled by an organised network, the minister said.

Captain Sameh Hefny, ahairman and CEO of EgyptAir Holding Company said: "Egypt’s flag carrier EgyptAir is exerting all the efforts and potentials for serving Egypt, so we have transported these shipping for free as we have done before in transporting others shipments from Berlin last year, which included three important pharaonic artifacts belong to the third and ninth dynasties.”

El-Hefny added that it is all out of EgyptAir’s national role to maintain the Egypt’s heritage and civilisation that lit the way for humanity throughout the ages. He stressed that it is coordinating with the Ministry of Antiquities permanently to retrieve the rest of Egyptian artifacts from other cities of different countries all over the world.

The restored items include a coffin and two wooden ships dating back to the 26th dynasty and the Middle Kingdom of Egypt respectively.