Egypt: Passengers Released After Opening Airplane Door to Cool Down

The Egyptian public prosecutor released two men who had opened an airplane door due to high temperatures, after confirming their actions were out of ignorance and not intentional.

Security forces at Cairo Airport had arrested the passengers after they opened the emergency door of an “Air Cairo” plane that was set to take off from Cairo Airport to Saudi Arabia, due to extreme heat, causing the plane to be completely disabled and delayed.

According to details of the incident, the pilot of the plane had discovered a malfunction before departure. During the repair attempt, two passengers felt the heat and went to open the emergency door for ventilation, which caused the plane to be completely disabled.

On its part, “Air Cairo” issued a press release on Tuesday, explaining the reason for the delay of its flight from Cairo International Airport to King Fahd Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and apologized to all the passengers.

The company added that its flight number SM433 / 434 to Dammam was delayed due to the technical malfunction discovered before takeoff at 4 a.m., and stated that there was cooperation and coordination with all relevant authorities at Cairo International Airport.