Continental Airlines says due to a recent decline in demand for travel to Egypt, it is postponing plans to offer daily nonstop flights between the New York area and Cairo.
Foreign tourism to Egypt has fallen off since the beginning of large protests that led to the February ouster of President Hosni Mubarek. The caretaker government, which estimated cancellations for February resulted in the loss of $825 million in tourism revenue, has assured foreigners that Egypt is safe.
Continental had planned to fly daily nonstop flights between Newark, N.J., and Cairo beginning May 18. It began selling seats last July.
Airline spokeswoman Julie King said Continental was delaying the service "indefinitely," and was working to find seats on other airlines for customers who bought tickets.
Continental's sister airline, United, sells flights to Cairo through so-called code-sharing arrangements with Egypt Air and Lufthansa.