简体中文
On the early Sunday morning, six colorful hot air balloons rose to the sky in southern Egypt, with Luxor Governor Ezzat Saad among the first passengers.
On the ground, tourists and residents were looking up, anxious and excited.
After nearly two months of suspension following a balloon blast that killed 19 people, the first batch of hot air balloons took off in the tourist city of Luxor at 6:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Sunday.
"I am keen to be here today among the balloon passengers and tourists to reassure them about the safety and security of the balloon," Governor Saad told Xinhua.
"The balloon companies in Luxor did their utmost to perform their duties and take all necessary measures to achieve the highest degree of safety and security," said Saad.
The balloon blast claiming 19 lives on Feb. 26 turned the popular tourist activity into a "nightmare," not only for visitors, but also for local tourism authorities.
Ahmed Abboud, chairman of the Egyptian Union for Balloon Companies, said resuming balloon trips was "urgent" as it represents a basic source of income for many local residents.
"We made an agreement with the civil aviation sector to supervise the takeoff and landing operations instead of the supervising Egyptian Airports Company whose workers went on strike after one of their managers had recently been arrested over the balloon crash," said Abboud.
Mohamed Ezz, pilot of the first balloon flight, said that balloon tourism in Luxor will "return to normal very soon."
Mohamed Yahya Abdel-Zaher, a resident of Luxor, told Xinhua that "Hot air balloon flights are an integral part of tourism in Luxor," but the business already suffered a slump due to the country's two-year political turmoil.
Hasanin al-Mahdi, a local resident, watched the colorful balloons flying over temple relics and ancient tombs on Sunday, and hoped that would demonstrate it is still "safe and secure" to enjoy hot balloon sightseeing in Luxor.
For Natalia Polna, a Greek tourist, "it was my wish to overlook the ancient Egyptian capital's historic heritage" during her first time in Egypt.
