Egypt addresses airline concerns on profit repatriation

Egypt has addressed the concerns of airlines who have complained in recent weeks about their inability to repatriate earnings, a central bank source said Wednesday. "Air carriers' concerns have been addressed and the latest issue with British Airways has been totally resolved regarding the repatriation of their profits," the source said. Import-dependent Egypt has faced a worsening dollar shortage since a 2011 uprising and subsequent turmoil drove away foreign investors and tourists, key sources of foreign currency. The crash of a Russian airliner over Sinai in late October has further hit tourism in the Red Sea, and with it Egypt's dollar earnings. Last week, Air France-KLM said it had been unable to repatriate any earnings since October and was owed more than US$12.77m. <br/>