Airport entry fee elicits mixed reactions.

CAIRO: A recent decision to charge visitors an LE 5 entry fee into Cairo Airport's Terminal 3 elicited different reactions, with some deeming the fee costly, and others welcoming the idea.

The Cairo Airport company is charging visitors LE 5 -- a reduction from the initially proposed LE 10 -- to reduce the large numbers of visitors that cram the halls, the official news agency MENA reported.

Airport-goers, who come to see traveling friends and family off or receive them, gave mixed opinions about the entry fee.

"LE 5 is too much for an entry fee," said Mohsen Feyad, an attorney. "If their aim is to use this money to cover renovation and maintenance costs, LE 1 per person is enough to do that and is at the same time affordable."

"Egyptians have a tradition of going in large groups to greet or say goodbye to a traveler, so it will cost them a lot to pay LE 5 per person," he added, explaining that those who can't afford it will be forced to wait outside in the sun.

Others welcomed the idea. "I don't mind paying fees. This is a business, and I am paying to receive a service," Mohamed Saeed, chairman of the board of directors of Delta Confections, said.

"In the rest of the world, airports are more developed than ours. Chinese airports rival their European counterparts in their technological advancement and aesthetic splendor. So, Egypt has to have its own respectable airport, too. If paying LE 5 means that the terminal will maintain its good quality, then it is money well spent," he said.

An usher at the door, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that so far nobody has objected to the entry fees. "People pay the LE 5 and stay inside until their friends or family leave or arrive." Other employees agreed with him.

Daily NewsEgypt 2009

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