Tourists besiege Cairo airport, but flights halt

Thousands of passengers were stranded at Cairo's airport on Saturday as flights were canceled or delayed, leaving them unable to leave because of a government-imposed curfew. Several Arab nations, meanwhile, moved to evacuate their citizens.

As Egypt's unrest neared its sixth day, the cancelations of flights and the arrival of several largely empty aircraft appeared to herald an ominous erosion of key tourism revenue for the country, hitting hard at its pocketbook even as protesters centered many of their grievances on the grinding poverty they endure daily.

Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan organized an additional 10 flights to evacuate their citizens, officials at Cairo International Airport said. Among those who left were families of diplomats.

Egypt's national carrier, meanwhile, was forced to cancel 15 scheduled flights because it was unable to secure the necessary crew and service personnel, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

For roughly 3,000 travelers, Egyptians and foreigners alike, the news was another blow in a day where little had gone right.

About 2,000 had flocked to the airport earlier in the day, many without reservations, hoping to secure a seat out of the country. With airlines canceling or rescheduling flights because of a curfew that was expanded from between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m., the options were limited, and their numbers swelled as flights arrived later in the evening.

Many of those passengers remained stranded at the airport, unable to leave because of the curfew as well as fears of the widespread looting reported across the capital.

Others, who had yet to venture to the airport, appeared to be counting the days and holding out hope for any opportunity to leave.

"We're going to contact the U.S. consulate, because we want them to know we're here," said Regina Fraser, co-host of the "Grannies on Safari" show on PBS, an American public access television channel. "We're going to try and figure out how the heck we're going to get back because we're very concerned there may not be any flights."

"We do want people to know, 'Hey we're Americans, we need to get home'," she said, speaking from the southern Egyptian city of Luxor. "Who wants to be around gunfire and also tear gases? It's pretty scary."

The immediate prospects seemed slim.

British Midlands International said its flight from London Heathrow to Cairo turned around because the change in the curfew would have made it impossible to land in time for passengers to make it out of the airport.