Air Sinai ( ) was an airline based in Cairo, Egypt. It operated as a 'paper airline' for parent company Egyptair under a wet lease-like agreement[1] to serve flights exclusively between Egypt and Israel.
History
The Egypt–Israel peace treaty signed in March 1979 stipulated that there must be active civilian aviation routes between Egypt and Israel. To fulfill the treaty, Air Sinai was established in 1982 to fly scheduled services between Egypt and Israel (on routes previously flown by Nefertiti Aviation), which for political reasons could not be handled by parent company Egyptair.[2]
Services started using a Boeing 737-200 leased from Egyptair and new routes from Egypt's tourist destinations followed. By the mid-1980s a Fokker F27 Friendship was also in use on these services. During 1982, a Boeing 707-320C was leased and operated on behalf of Egyptair on their flights to Europe, especially twice weekly from Cairo to Copenhagen.
Due to the tense Egypt–Israel relations, the airline operated discreetly: for a long time it had no website, public schedule of flights, markings on planes, signs at the airports, or a way to make online bookings.