Cairo airport will close two of its runways for four hours each day from early June to save power for the Egyptian government that is struggling to pay for fuel imports for power stations, the minister of civil aviation said.
Power cuts have become more frequent since the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Two years of political upheavals have choked off tourism revenues and pressured the currency, triggering a rising budget deficit.
Egypt's new Islamist leaders are trying to negotiate a loan from the International Monetary Fund as the country faces a lack of funds to buy fuel, causing repeated power cuts.
"Cairo International airport will close for four hours daily starting the first of June while one runway will be kept open to receive any flights during those hours," the state news agency quoted civil aviation minister Wael al-Maadawi.
He said the closure should not have any impact on air traffic as the airport had seen a dramatic reduction in flights, and runways had been kept open without being used.
"The decision came after detailed study on the rate of work that had witnessed a huge reduction (in traffic) in the past two years," he added.