THE fate of EgyptAir flight MS804 is still uncertain, but airlines with businesses in the Middle East and Europe can already expect backlash from the incident, at least for the near future, according to consultancy Global Market Advisors.
“(We are) short-term financially negative for airlines with exposure to the Middle East region, largely affecting European and Gulf state carriers,” said Jonathan Galaviz, senior industry analyst – airlines at Global Market Advisors.
“(There will also be) significant frictional costs over the next few weeks from increased security, media coverage, and operational security at airports located in the MENA region.”
Global news media have spread word of flight MS804’s disappearance from radar tracking systems since yesterday, but it is still inconclusive what happened to the A320 with 59 passengers and 10 crew members onboard.
Confusion is now rife after conflicting reports of the plane’s fate hit news outlets. EgyptAir earlier reported that the plane’s debris have been found before backpedaling to say that it does not belong to MS804.
The latest official statement from EgyptAir, which is wholly owned by the Egyptian government, indicates that the search is still ongoing with the Egyptian air force, navy and army all mobilised. Search teams from France, Greece, the UK and the US are also onsite.
The leading suspicion now is terrorism, according to Egypt’s aviation minister Sherif Fathy.
Galaviz said that the last major flight incident involving Egypt (but not EgyptAir) was outbound Russian flight Metrojet 9268 leaving Sharm el-Sheikh city on October 31 last year, which happened about seven months ago.
“The investigation on that flight continues but terrorism was the defined cause,” he said.
As for the current ongoing incident, Galaviz predicts that “in the short-term there will be conflicting information and worry about the aviation sector in the region, but we remain bullish on the long-term prospects on airlines flying out of and headquartered in the Gulf States.”
