Businessman and prominent leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, engineer Khairat al-Shater, has begun investing in the aviation in recent weeks, a source familiar with the matter told Al Arabiya on Monday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said Shater “is currently looking for a partnership to buy seven airplanes from Egypt Air that owns (many planes) but is operating with half of its capacity since the revolution erupted (in 2011).”
Shater’s attempt comes after a deal with Coptic businessman and leader of the Masrena (Our Egypt) Party Rami Lakah was not sealed, according to the source.
The source said that Shater’s rejection of letting Lakah be the sole manager brought the expected deal to an end.
According to the source, the new company was set to launch flights to and from Cairo and Tehran, while also flying to and from Cairo and America.
Lakah, who previously made investments in the aviation field, had been able through one of his companies to gain the approval of American authorities to land in American airports after paying 1.2 billion dollars.
The deal between Lakah and Shater was supposed to result in buying seven airplanes from Egypt Air, three Boeing 737-500 and four Airbus 340 and 320. The price of each is nearly $45 million.
